World Watch/Antigua and Barbuda/Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity · Antigua and Barbuda

Cybersecurity regulation in Antigua and Barbuda (2026)

Sectoral rulesElectronic Crimes Act 2013 (No. 14 of 2013) and Data Protection Act 2013 (No. 10 of 2013), with oversight by the Information CommissionerCountry index 77 · B+

Antigua and Barbuda shaded by its cybersecurity status

Antigua and Barbuda's cybersecurity regime rests on sectoral legislation — principally the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 and the Data Protection Act 2013 — rather than a unified comprehensive cybersecurity law. There is no officially approved national cybersecurity strategy and no fully operational national CIRT, though both have been subjects of international capacity-building efforts. The country ranked Tier 5 (score 17.89/100) in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, reflecting significant gaps across legal, technical, and organisational pillars.

Key points

Electronic Crimes Act 2013

No. 14 of 2013 criminalises unauthorised access to electronic systems, identity theft, electronic fraud, cyber-terrorism, and online child exploitation; it also grants law enforcement powers for data preservation, search and seizure, and real-time traffic-data collection.

Computer Misuse Act 2006

An earlier statute criminalising unauthorised computer access, data theft, and distribution of malicious software; its scope is largely superseded by the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 but remains on the books.

Data Protection Act 2013 and breach notification

No. 10 of 2013 establishes the Information Commissioner and imposes data-security obligations on data controllers, but does not mandate formal breach notification to the authority or affected individuals — notification remains discretionary rather than legally compelled.

No national cybersecurity strategy or CIRT

Antigua and Barbuda has no officially approved national cybersecurity strategy and no recognised national CIRT; a CIRT readiness assessment was conducted with international support but a fully operational team has not been established.

ITU GCI 2024 — Tier 5

The country scored 17.89/100 in the ITU Global Cybersecurity Index 2024, placing it in Tier 5 — the lowest tier in the Americas — indicating inadequate progress across legal, technical, organisational, capacity-building, and cooperation pillars.

Regional cooperation

Antigua and Barbuda hosted a regional cybersecurity exercise in April 2024 aimed at enhancing cyber readiness among small island states, and collaborates with OAS and ITU on capacity-building; no binding incident-reporting framework has emerged from these efforts.

Antigua and Barbuda - other topics

Last verified 5/24/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →