A regional forum will bring French-, Dutch-, and English-speaking territories together to strengthen cyberattack response and protect shared digital infrastructure.
MARIGOT:--- Saint-Martin will take center stage in a new regional cybersecurity initiative this week, hosting a forum intended to establish a common framework for Caribbean territories to warn one another, coordinate responses, and provide assistance when cyberattacks strike.
Scheduled for October 20–22 across Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, the forum will officially launch the Caribbean Cybersecurity Incident Response Community (C-CIRC). The initiative aims to address a weakness organizers identified: Caribbean territories share connectivity infrastructure and face common digital threats, but their ability to respond remains uneven and often limited to individual jurisdictions.
According to an October 16 press release from the Collectivité of Saint-Martin, representatives of governments, territorial authorities and regional organizations from the French-, Dutch- and English-speaking Caribbean are expected to participate.
The gathering is hosted by Territorial Council President Louis Mussington. Sessions will take place at Collège Soualiga on October 20 and 21, before moving to Saint-Barthélemy on October 22.
Shared threats, uneven protection
Organizers warn that public authorities, healthcare institutions, telecommunications operators, and businesses face cyberattacks that ignore territorial borders.
The project’s central premise is that protecting each territory increasingly depends on the region’s collective ability to exchange warnings, share expertise, and mobilize assistance.
C-CIRC is being led by the Agence Caribéenne pour la Cybersécurité (ACCYB) in partnership with the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the Collectivités of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
It is co-financed by the European Union through the INTERREG Caribbean 2021–2027 programme, using European Regional Development Fund resources. The Guadeloupe Region manages the program, which supports cooperation between European Caribbean territories and their regional neighbors.
The release does not identify the project’s total budget or provide a complete list of participating governments.
From cooperation to practical response
The forum aims to build the structures and tools needed for sustained regional cooperation.
Its work programme includes establishing C-CIRC’s steering and technical committees, preparing a 2026–2028 regional strategic roadmap, and developing a shared governance and financial model.
Another priority is creating a regional register of cybersecurity stakeholders and a database identifying available expertise, response capabilities and assistance needs.
Participants will also work toward common information-sharing and alert procedures, pooled incident-response capabilities and a regional cyberthreat observatory. Training and public awareness activities form part of the project, with digital investigation training planned alongside the forum.
The initiative is organized around four core missions: prepare, detect, respond and assist.
Mussington: A lasting commitment to collective protection
In the release, Mussington said hosting the first forum affirmed Saint-Martin’s role as a bridge between Caribbean communities.
He said the initiative represents more than a cooperation project, framing it as a lasting commitment by participating territories to protect the digital connections they increasingly share.
ACCYB President Steven Cocks said C-CIRC would put regional solidarity into practice by providing a common framework for issuing alerts, coordinating action, and helping one another during cybersecurity incidents.
ACCYB Director-General Cédric Pradel emphasized that no territory can confront every cyberthreat it faces on its own. He said the forum would translate a shared ambition into a roadmap supported by institutions, tools and collective commitments.
Organizers also highlighted the significance of launching the initiative on an island shared by French and Dutch jurisdictions.
Cyber crisis exercise on the agenda
The opening ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at Collège Soualiga, followed by a strategic discussion on Caribbean incident response.
Afternoon workshops will address C-CIRC governance and the development of skills needed to support a trusted digital Caribbean, with participation from the CTU and the Université des Antilles.
Wednesday’s programme will focus on shared threat intelligence, operational cooperation and regional coordination. The CTU will facilitate a tabletop cyber crisis exercise in the afternoon, giving participants an opportunity to work through a simulated incident.
On Thursday, discussions in Saint-Barthélemy will examine the security of Caribbean submarine cables—the infrastructure carrying the region’s digital communications—and the use of artificial intelligence in cybersecurity.
Organizers advise that the program remains subject to change.
Implementation will be the next test
After the forum, the project is expected to move toward establishing its governance bodies, finalizing a 2027 action plan, and beginning implementation of its first shared operational tools.
ACCYB already operates CSIRT-Atlantic, an incident-response center serving French territories in the Americas. C-CIRC seeks to develop a broader framework connecting capabilities across linguistic and jurisdictional boundaries.
For Saint-Martin and its regional partners, the practical test will be whether the forum produces functioning warning systems, clear assistance arrangements, and the capacity to respond together when an incident occurs.
