WILLEMSTAD - New findings from the Cybersecuritybeeld Nederland 2025 show that cybercriminals increasingly target essential government services, and the Dutch Caribbean is no exception. According to the report, the Belastingdienst Curaçao recently became the victim of a ransomware attack that disrupted critical operations on the island.
The incident forced the tax authority to take one of its core systems offline to prevent further spread of the malware. The report does not indicate whether personal or financial data was compromised, but notes that the attack was serious enough to halt services and trigger emergency response measures.
The same section of the report reveals that the Hof van Justitie, which operates across all six islands of the Kingdom, also encountered malicious software in its IT systems, forcing it to shut down digital services.
Part of a Larger Pattern of Regional Vulnerabilities
Although the report primarily focuses on the Netherlands, it explicitly identifies the Dutch Caribbean as increasingly vulnerable to global cybercrime trends. These islands rely heavily on shared digital infrastructures and service providers, meaning an attack on one institution can disrupt services across multiple territories.
The report highlights that ransomware and supply-chain breaches remain among the most common forms of cyberattacks worldwide, often striking government agencies, hospitals, telecom services, and essential infrastructures.
Urgent Need for Cyber Resilience
Given the growing scale and sophistication of attacks—often linked to state-backed actors from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea—the report urges all parts of the Kingdom to strengthen cyber resilience, prepare for disruptions, and improve incident-response systems.
For Curaçao, the recent disruptions underline how vital local government IT systems are—and how quickly they can be brought to a standstill.