The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) approved a $6.5 million loan to help Jamaica fight cyberattacks after the island got hit with over 34 million hacking attempts in just the first half of 2025. Jamaica is throwing in another $3.5 million to make it a $10 million project total. The money should help protect more than 2.8 million people by making it tougher for hackers to break into government computers and important stuff like power grids. The cash will go toward updating how Jamaica handles cyber threats, training more tech people, and teaching folks how to spot scams online. This is the third time IDB has done a cybersecurity loan like this, after Uruguay and Argentina.
Jamaica’s hacker problems keep getting worse as more things go digital. Small islands like Jamaica don’t have tons of cyber experts or fancy equipment to fight off the bad guys. Hackers love going after things like hospitals, water systems, and power plants because they can cause real chaos or steal valuable information.
The loan will help Jamaica build a plan to protect critical infrastructure and train government workers to react faster when attacks happen. They’ll run awareness campaigns and teach public workers about cyber threats. Kids will learn about cybersecurity in school, and universities will get better at teaching it. Fifteen students will get scholarships for cyber studies, about 225 will benefit from improved university programs, and 25 government workers will get special training.
The project connects to Jamaica’s big development plans and could show other small island countries how to protect themselves from cyberattacks.
