By Anthony Henry

The Government is seeking to dismantle the enabling infrastructure behind cybercrime through new provisions in the Cybercrimes (Amendment) Act, 2026, now under debate in Parliament.

Opening the debate, Minister without Portfolio Dr Andrew Wheatley said modern cybercrime has become “industrialised,” with tools being traded and distributed in organised networks that support phishing, account takeovers, payment diversion scams and impersonation schemes.

Clause 6 of the Bill makes it an offence to manufacture, sell, import, distribute, disclose or make available devices, data or digital “keys” designed primarily for committing cyber offences. Possession of such items with the intent to use them for criminal purposes will also be punishable.

Dr Wheatley said this approach targets not only individual scammers but also the broader ecosystem that enables large-scale financial fraud, including tactics that now use AI-generated voices and images to deceive victims.

The amendments also expand protections for nationally significant systems. Section 11 of the Act will be updated to include revenue systems and to modernise references to health systems, reflecting the national security risks posed by attacks on critical digital infrastructure.

The Minister said the measures aim to raise the operational cost of cybercrime while strengthening Jamaica’s ability to investigate and prosecute organised digital fraud.