As Pacific Island Countries face increasing vulnerabilities linked to climate change, connectivity constraints and growing dependence on digital infrastructure, the increasing risks in cybersecurity require countries to adopt forward-looking resilience strategies and reinforce the importance of secure and resilient information systems that can support climate adaption and long-term sustainable development. 

“The intersection of climate security and cybersecurity is becoming increasingly evident in the region. Climate-related disruptions can affect digital infrastructure and, in turn, undermine the delivery of essential services and the resilience of critical infrastructure. This highlights urgent need to strengthen climate-resilient and cyber-resilient infrastructure. Through this workshop, we are glad to bridge the expertise from the European Union to Indo-Pacific region and support Pacific Island Countries in strengthening the protection, preparedness and resilience of their critical infrastructure against cyber threats and other interconnected risks.” – Liina Areng, Director of EU CyberNet.  

The workshop will explore the cybersecurity challenges facing critical infrastructure in the Pacific, including how climate-related risks can amplify vulnerabilities and disrupt essential services such as energy, telecommunications, finance, healthcare and government. Participants will examine the interdependencies between these sectors and approaches to integrated risk assessment, resilient infrastructure design, redundancy and contingency planning. Discussions will also address supply-chain vulnerabilities and the implications of emerging technologies, including AI and quantum computing, for critical systems. The workshop will conclude by identifying priority actions, investment needs and practical opportunities to strengthen cybersecurity, incident response capabilities and the continuity of essential services. 

Workshop, led by EU CyberNet experts Jan Rada, Stefano Leucci and Radoslaw Gnat, will be attended by 14 policymakers and regulators at both decision-making and technical expert levels from key sectors from Fiji, Palau, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.  

The workshop is organised by EU CyberNet, a project funded by the European Union within the EU Global Threats Programme, in partnership with the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NUKIB), the embassies of Estonia and the Czech Republic in Canberra and the Delegation of the European Union to Australia.