Cybersecurity is emerging as an increasingly important technology priority in the U.S. Virgin Islands as artificial intelligence makes cyber threats more sophisticated and difficult to defend against.

The USVI Cybersecurity Advisory Council is focused on strengthening territory-wide cybersecurity, incident response capabilities and protection of information-technology infrastructure. Its mandate also includes developing a stronger workforce pipeline for cybersecurity-related fields.

The push comes as the global technology sector warns that AI-enabled cyberattacks could become significantly more widespread. More than 100 technology and financial companies recently called for stronger cooperation between governments and businesses to improve cyber defenses.

For the USVI, strengthening cybersecurity could be particularly important as government agencies, businesses, utilities and other organisations become increasingly dependent on connected digital systems.

Building local cybersecurity expertise could help the territory respond more quickly to emerging threats while creating new technology career opportunities for Virgin Islanders.

The growing emphasis on cyber defense also supports the USVI’s wider ambition to develop its technology sector and attract businesses operating in digital services and information security.