CyCIS — Caribbean Chartered Institute of Cyber & Information Security

The Business Case

The Corporate Risk Register for Caribbean Enterprises

Four converging pressures that make Caribbean digital resilience a board-level priority — each backed by independent evidence and each addressable through the CyCIS framework.

01 — Regulatory Exposure

DORA Compliance Is Live. The Gap Is Yours to Close.

EU DORA (in force January 2025) requires third-country financial institutions to demonstrate operational resilience equivalence. Every Caribbean bank, insurer and fintech with EU correspondent relationships faces this requirement now. Without a recognised regional standard, compliance is fragmented, costly, and commercially disadvantaging. The IDB values the Caribbean's digital economy potential at $8B by 2025 — unrealised without the trust architecture to access it.

IDB Caribbean Digital Transformation Report, 2022 · EU DORA, January 2025

02 — Business Continuity Risk

When the Hurricane Hits, Your Systems Must Stay Online

Caribbean SIDS face annual climate-related economic losses of 2–9% of GDP. When Hurricane Dorian struck the Bahamas, banking and telecoms systems failed within 48 hours. Operational Resilience is no longer separable from disaster preparedness — your business continuity plan is only as strong as your cyber resilience framework.

World Bank CCRIF Retrospective, 2023

03 — Standards Deficit

12 of 15 CARICOM States in the Lowest ITU Tiers

The ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2024 rates 12 of 15 CARICOM member states in the bottom two tiers globally. Without harmonised regional standards, Caribbean enterprises manage 26 fragmented national compliance requirements. One chartered regional framework replaces all of that — at a fraction of the cost, with global recognition.

ITU Global Cybersecurity Index, 2024

04 — Talent Pipeline

70–80% of Your Graduates Are Already Gone

The Caribbean loses an estimated 70–80% of its tertiary-educated professionals to emigration. Cybersecurity roles carry a 40–60% international salary premium. Without chartered Caribbean career pathways, earn-while-you-learn programmes and demand-led certifications, every graduating class widens your talent gap. CyCIS changes that calculus.

ILO Caribbean Labour Market Report, 2022

Charter & Mandate

The Authority on Caribbean Digital Trust & Resilience

Vision

To be the preeminent chartered institute uniting the Caribbean and global community as the foremost regional authority in cyber and information security — driving market-led excellence in Digital Trust and Operational Resilience, shaping international policy, and fostering digital diplomacy to secure an inclusive, resilient and sovereign digital future for generations.

Mission

Empowering the Caribbean to Define Its Own Digital Future

Mission

To convene, certify and champion — uniting the private sector, regulators, governments and the global community in setting and advancing the Caribbean's standards for Digital Trust and Operational Resilience Excellence; cultivating professional achievement; harmonising policy; and ensuring one cohesive Caribbean voice in every forum that shapes the digital future.

Standards & Framework Alignment

EU DORA (January 2025)

Digital Operational Resilience Act — DORE is the Caribbean's third-country equivalence pathway for financial institutions with EU relationships

ISO/IEC 22301:2019

Business Continuity Management — underpins the DORE certification architecture across all four economic sectors

NIST CSF 2.0 (2024)

Cybersecurity Framework — adopted by US-regulated Caribbean entities and correspondent banking relationships

ISO/IEC 27001:2022

Information Security Management — required for government and regulated-sector vendor contracts across CARICOM

CARICOM Cyber Strategy (CTU, 2021–2025)

CyCIS is the private sector implementation vehicle for the region's existing policy mandate

ABAS 2024 — SIDS Digital Agenda

Antigua & Barbuda Agenda for SIDS positions CyCIS within active development funding streams targeting 2030 outcomes

Flagship Programmes

Where Strategy Meets Action

Four programmes with measurable outcomes — designed to protect Caribbean enterprises, build regional intelligence, safeguard children online, and convene the Caribbean Region under The CyCIS Forum.

Pillar 01, 02 & 03 · Capacity & Commerce

Caribbean Cyber Commerce, Policy & Talent Ecosystem

Four interconnected programmes building the institutional backbone of Caribbean cyber resilience — from private-sector commerce alliances to model legislation, chartered professional development and demand-led certification pathways that keep talent in the region.

Programme A

Caribbean Cyber Commerce Alliance (C3A)

Private Sector Council of CISOs, CFOs and boards from banks, telcos, insurers, tourism and energy — the market-led engine of DORE standards development.

Programme B

Caribbean Cyber Policy Lab

Formal dialogue between the C3A Private Sector Council and CARICOM IMPACS, OECS and CTU — translating DORE and CCAF standards into model legislation across all member states.

Programme C

Caribbean Cyber Fellows Programme

Earn-while-you-learn mentorship and apprenticeship network — placing certified, job-ready professionals into C3A member companies and directly countering Caribbean brain drain.

Programme D

Demand-Led Certification Pathways

Market-driven certifications co-developed with CAB, CHTA and industry — meeting real private-sector job demand with world-class professional credentials rooted in the Caribbean.

Outcome Target

10,000 Caribbean professionals certified under CyCIS demand-led frameworks within five years — talent that stays, builds and leads in the region.

Pillar 01 · Certification

DORE Certification Framework

Digital Operational Resilience Excellence (DORE) — the Caribbean's definitive certification mark for operational resilience. Co-developed with CISOs, CFOs and boards from banks, telcos, insurers and tourism operators. DORE links certification to insurance premium incentives, regulatory recognition and EU DORA third-country equivalence across CARICOM.

Finance Tourism Energy Digital Infrastructure DORA Equivalent

Outcome Target

Caribbean enterprises achieve regulatory equivalence with EU DORA, UK CBEST and NIST CSF — unlocking cross-border financial services access and measurably improved insurance positioning.

Pillar 01 & 02 · Intelligence

Cyber Resilience Observatory & ISACs

The Caribbean Cyber Resilience Observatory (CCRO) is the region's authoritative threat intelligence hub — aggregating anonymised incident data, sector alerts and threat feeds across CARICOM. Four sector ISACs (Information Sharing and Analysis Centres) (Finance, Tourism, Energy, Digital Infrastructure) provide trusted communities of practice for intelligence sharing, joint crisis response and board-level tabletop exercises.

Finance ISAC Tourism ISAC Energy ISAC Digital Infra ISAC

Outcome Target

Annual Caribbean State of Cyber Resilience report — the SIDS benchmark launched at UN, OAS and WEF — becomes the definitive reference for regional digital security progress by 2028.

Pillar 03 · Child Safety

Caribbean Child Online Protection Initiative

The Caribbean's first coordinated, cross-government framework to protect children in digital environments — delivering model legislation, school curriculum integration, a Digital Ambassadors network and a regional online child safety reporting mechanism. Aligned with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF COP guidelines and the WeProtect Global Alliance framework. Fundable under UNICEF, USAID, FCDO and EU DEVCO child protection mandates. SDG-aligned across Goals 4, 5, 10 and 16.

Model Legislation School Curriculum Digital Ambassadors UNCRC Aligned

Outcome Target

Child Online Protection legislation enacted in minimum 10 CARICOM states by 2028, and a coordinated regional early warning and reporting system operational across all member states by 2029.

Strategic Focus

Four Pillars. One Coherent Strategy.

Every initiative, every collaboration and every partnership is anchored within an integrated framework — designed for measurable regional impact across economy, governance, capacity and innovation.

Pillar 01

Private Sector Excellence & Market-Driven Resilience

Establishing CyCIS as the trusted partner for industry — convening the standards, assurance frameworks and collaborative platforms necessary for Caribbean enterprises to achieve and demonstrate Operational Resilience to global counterparts and regulators.

Outcome

Caribbean enterprises achieve EU DORA equivalence — reducing the cross-CARICOM compliance cost of 26 fragmented national frameworks to one.

Pillar 02

Harmonised Governance & Cyber Diplomacy

Uniting policy co-creation, regulatory alignment and international diplomatic engagement — embedding Digital Trust into the legal and normative fabric of the region, in collaboration with CARICOM, OECS, CTU and global multilateral partners.

Outcome

A unified Caribbean position tabled at the UN OEWG on ICT Security by 2027 — the first coordinated SIDS cyber diplomatic statement in the forum's history.

Pillar 03

Capacity Building & Inclusive Digital Citizenship

Empowering individuals and communities through world-class skills, continuing professional development and equitable digital access — building a culture of Digital Trust extending from the classroom and micro-enterprise to the boardroom and the regulator.

Outcome

10,000 Caribbean professionals certified under CyCIS frameworks within five years — with Child Online Protection legislation enacted in 10+ CARICOM states by 2028.

Pillar 04

Innovation, Research & Global Thought Leadership

Positioning the Caribbean at the frontier of cyber resilience for Small Island Developing States — through collaborative research, strategic partnerships and active participation in shaping the international cybersecurity norms of the next decade.

Outcome

The Caribbean SIDS Cyber Resilience Index — an annual, peer-reviewed benchmark — becomes the authoritative reference for SIDS digital security progress in UN, World Bank and donor reporting by 2028.

The Case for Engagement

Why the Private Sector Chooses CyCIS

A chartered authority delivering concrete business value — regulatory equivalence, sector intelligence, talent pipeline, and The CyCIS Forum. Four reasons, backed by evidence.

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Regulatory Equivalence

DORE gives Caribbean financial institutions a credible, certifiable path to EU DORA and NIST CSF equivalence — unlocking EU correspondent banking relationships, improving insurance positioning, and replacing 26 fragmented compliance regimes with one recognised standard.

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Intelligence Advantage

ISAC founding members access the CCRO threat intelligence platform — anonymised sector alerts, incident reports and threat feeds that no single organisation can generate alone. The intelligence advantage of collective Caribbean data, at enterprise scale.

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Talent & Pipeline

The Caribbean Cyber Fellows earn-while-you-learn model places certified, job-ready professionals directly into ISAC member companies — countering the 70–80% graduate emigration rate and creating a self-sustaining talent ecosystem that stays and invests in the region.

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Convening Power

The neutral regional convener where Caribbean cyber decisions are formed. The CyCIS Forum 2027 brings enterprises, regulators, CISOs and global partners to one table — the primary marketplace of ideas and partnerships for regional and international private sector leaders.

Digital Trust is the currency of the modern economy. Without it, citizens will not adopt digital services, businesses will not invest, and regional integration will stall. Operational Resilience is the shield that protects that trust — ensuring that when an incident occurs, our banks continue to clear, our hospitals continue to admit, and our governments continue to function.

— Edward Millington, Chairman & Founder, CyCIS

Pathways to Engage

Four Ways to Build With Us

CyCIS offers structured pathways for private sector organisations, institutions and professionals. Each pathway is designed to create specific, measurable outcomes for partners and for the region.

Pathway 01

ISAC Member

Join one of four sector-specific Information Sharing & Analysis Centres — Finance, Tourism, Energy, or Digital Infrastructure. Founding ISAC members co-shape the intelligence framework and gain priority access to the CCRO threat intelligence platform.

Pathway 02

DORE Partner

Become a founding DORE anchor partner — co-developing the Caribbean's definitive Digital Operational Resilience Excellence certification mark, linked to insurance incentives, regulatory recognition and EU DORA equivalence pathways.

Pathway 03

Collaborator

Governments, regional bodies, professional organisations and multilaterals co-creating standards, model legislation and joint research. CyCIS is the neutral regional convener where Caribbean cyber decisions are formed.

Pathway 04

Member

Professionals, enterprises and institutions joining the Caribbean's chartered community of practice — accessing DORE certification, ISAC membership, the Caribbean Cyber Fellows Programme and priority access to The CyCIS Forum 2027.

Governing Body

The Leadership Behind CyCIS

CyCIS is led by its Founder and Chairman, with the Board of Governors currently being constituted from the Caribbean's most senior authorities in cybersecurity, digital policy, financial regulation and international law. Appointments will be announced in Q3 2026.

Chairman
Founder

Chairman · Founder

Edward Millington

Caribbean Chartered Institute of Cyber & Information Security

Chairman and Founder of CyCIS, and Managing Director of CariSec Global Inc., domiciled in Barbados. A recognised authority on Caribbean cyber and information security policy and governance, with sustained engagement across regional governments, regulators, industry leaders and global multilateral partners — and a published voice in the international professional discourse on Digital Trust and Operational Resilience for Small Island Developing States and world economies.

He is the architect of the Unified Digital Operational Resilience (Unified DOR) Framework — converging ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27701, NIST CSF 2.0, and ISO/IEC 42001 and other sector specific regulations, standards and frameworks into a single governance architecture for the AI era — and the Caribbean DORE Certification standard, positioning the Caribbean as a global model for resilience in Small Island Developing States.

A peer-elected Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Information Security (FCIIS), EU CyberNet Expert, and Commonwealth Caribbean Cyber Fellow and Co-Chair, he is recognised globally as both a practitioner and a statesman of the digital age.

Also

Managing Director, CariSec Global Inc.

Published

PECB Insights · BIBA BRIM 2026

Domicile

Barbados · CARICOM Region

Connect

LinkedIn Profile ↗

In Print & On Stage

PECB Insights — Digital Trust & Operational Resilience for SIDS ↗ BIBA BRIM 2026 — Caribbean Cyber Resilience ↗

Governor

Dr. Stephen Boyce

CEO & President · The Cyber Doctor

CEO & President of The Cyber Doctor, Dr. Boyce brings a distinguished career spanning federal law enforcement at the FBI, cyber diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State — where he represented the United States across international working groups — and private sector leadership at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks as vCISO and Principal Consultant. He has built enterprise security programmes for a $2B multinational conglomerate and serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, CISOs and General Counsel. He holds a Doctorate of Science in Cybersecurity from Marymount University.

Cybersecurity Federal Law Enforcement Cyber Diplomacy vCISO

LinkedIn Profile ↗

Governor

Jerrel Samaroo-Campbell, ^Esq.

Founder · Decipher Data Law · New York & Caribbean

Founder of Decipher Data Law, a technology law practice serving clients across the Caribbean and United States. He specialises in AI governance, cybersecurity law, data privacy and digital enterprise risk management — with over a decade of multi-jurisdictional experience advising corporations, financial institutions and government entities on emerging technology legal governance. His dual LL.M. in Cyberlaw and Sports & Entertainment Law spans technology regulation, intellectual property and cross-border data sovereignty under extraterritorial regimes including GDPR. Admitted in Trinidad & Tobago and New York.

Technology Law AI Governance Data Privacy Cyber Law

LinkedIn Profile ↗

Governor

Jermaine Deans

Independent Director · Clairbridge Advisory Ltd · Cayman Islands

A seasoned Strategic Management Professional with over two decades of leadership across financial services, capital markets, banking, corporate finance and treasury. Former Managing Director of JN Cayman and Deputy General Manager of JN Fund Managers, Jermaine brings rare board-level judgment bridging strategy, execution, governance and market expertise. Founder of Clairbridge Advisory Ltd and Co-Founder of TECHnique Solutions, a cybersecurity and infrastructure firm. He serves on the boards of Spike Industries Ltd. and Stationery & Office Supplies Ltd., and previously on the Corporate Governance Committee of the Caribbean Association of Banks. MBA (Finance) and BSc Finance, Villanova University.

Financial Services Risk Governance Capital Markets Board Advisory

Governor

Carmel Haynes

Executive Director · Barbados International Business Association (BIBA)

Executive Director of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA), leading strategic advocacy for Barbados' international financial services, trade, logistics and corporate services sector. She serves on the Board of the Barbados Private Sector Association and participates in the national Social Partnership chaired by the Prime Minister. A former Caribbean and Southeast U.S. Regional Representative for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Carmel is a Director of the Caribbean Corporate Governance Institute, a founding board member of the Barbados Association of Professional Communicators, and a Member of the Florida Society for Association Executives. BA Hons. Literature, UWI; PG Diploma (Merit) International Business Management, University of Surrey.

International Business Private Sector Advocacy Corporate Governance Barbados · CARICOM

LinkedIn Profile ↗

Digital Trust. Operational Resilience.
One Caribbean Voice.

The Corporate Risk Register for Caribbean Enterprises

The Authority on Caribbean Digital Trust & Resilience

Empowering the Caribbean to Define Its Own Digital Future

Where Strategy Meets Action

Four Pillars. One Coherent Strategy.

Why the Private Sector Chooses CyCIS

Four Ways to Build With Us

The Leadership Behind CyCIS

Edward Millington

Building the Foundation for a Trusted, Resilient Digital Caribbean

Digital Trust. Operational Resilience.One Caribbean Voice.

The Corporate Risk Register for Caribbean Enterprises

The Authority on Caribbean Digital Trust & Resilience

Empowering the Caribbean to Define Its Own Digital Future

Where Strategy Meets Action

Four Pillars. One Coherent Strategy.

Why the Private Sector Chooses CyCIS

Four Ways to Build With Us

The Leadership Behind CyCIS

Edward Millington

Building the Foundation for a Trusted, Resilient Digital Caribbean

Digital Trust. Operational Resilience.
One Caribbean Voice.