Published: November 17, 2025

The 2025 PaCSON Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place from Thursday 16 October to Tuesday 21 October in Kiribati, Kiritimati Island. This year’s AGM stretched over the weekend, providing members with opportunities to connect in person through sessions that strengthened member’s collective expertise in cybersecurity, information sharing, networking and capacity building. Beyond the formal program, the AGM also offered attendees the chance to catch up with familiar faces in person and experience the untouched beauty of Kiritimati Island.

Kiribati as Outgoing Chair

As the Chair for 2024/2025, the Ministry of Information, Communications and Transport’s (MICT) Kiribati, served as the host for the AGM. During the closing session, Kiribati farewelled their position and graciously handed over the role to PNG, who will now serve as Chair for the 2025/2026 term.

Throughout their term serving on the Executive Committee (EC) Kiribati played a leading role in the community’s collective efforts to share information and strengthen relationships, as well as guiding decision-making for the PaCSON community.

As hosts, Kiribati fostered an engaged and united community. The MICT team also provided logistical support in the lead up to and during the AGM, ensuring members remained connected and enthusiastic throughout the program. The community expressed their gratitude to Kiribati for their generosity, and leadership, acknowledging the effort and care they took hosting and supporting the AGM. Thank you to MICT and the Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development (MLPID) for their guidance and hospitality in hosting us on beautiful Kiritimati Island!

The ‘Capture the Flag’ cyber challenge

The Capture the Flag (CTF) is always an exciting highlight of the AGM, giving participants the opportunity to upskill and uplift their incident response capabilities as they race to complete and capture as many ‘flags’ as possible. After a busy day of problem solving and working in mixed teams, the challenge came to a nail biting close!

It was a close competition, with only a twenty-point difference separating the top two teams. In first place was Team TanoaTrace with 280 points, followed by Team HulaPacket with 260 points, and Team Bamboo Signal in third place with 200 points.

Congratulations to the winners of Team TanoaTrace- made up of Elisha Devi (Fiji), Kunal Raj (RBF), Otukolo Tokai (Tonga), Klée Aiken (FIRST) and Simon Nicolet (ANSSI).

Kiritimati Island Tour

As part of the AGM program, MICT and MLPID organised a full day cultural tour to Ngaon Tetaake, Cook Island and Paris Point, offering attendees the opportunity to experience Kiribati’s beauty and vibrant environment. Participants were fortunate to see local wildlife in their natural habitat, gaining a deeper appreciation for Kiribati’s biodiversity.

The visit also featured a relaxed picnic at Paris Point, where attendees enjoyed the chance to connect and network in an informal setting. Members had the opportunity to swim, unwind, and enjoy the picturesque surroundings.

The cultural day provided a wonderful balance to the formal AGM sessions, fostering stronger relationships across the community while enjoying the spirit and beauty of Kiribati. Many attendees noted that the tour was a highlight of their time in Kiritimati, and that it served as a great opportunity to bond with other PaCSON community members.

Working group meetings and updates:

The AGM serves as an important platform for working groups to come together to discuss and share new ideas for the future. It provides an opportunity for members to reflect on the past year’s achievements while also looking ahead to new goals and initiatives.

The working groups in PaCSON are:

Awareness Raising Working Group (ARWG)
Capacity Building Working Group (CBWG)
Communications Working Group (CWG)
Partners Working Group (PWG)

In addition, a new working group was launched at this year’s AGM. The new Women in Cybersecurity Working Group (WiCWG) will focus on supporting women in strategic leadership roles and will help to nurture the growth of women in the PaCSON community.

The CBWG launched their action plan, outlining frameworks for developing and delivering cyber capacity building initiatives in the region. The CWG highlighted the projects they contributed to over the past year, highlighting their role in enhancing visibility and engagement within the community. Meanwhile, the ARWG shared their priorities for the coming year, setting a direction for continued outreach and cyber awareness raising.

Visit to the Southern Cross NEXT cable landing site

The Southern Cross NEXT (SX NEXT) submarine cable system provides connectivity between Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tokelau, Kiribati and the United States. It represents a vital infrastructure investment connecting the Pacific Islands to global networks.

AGM attendees had the opportunity to visit the cable landing station, which included a presentation and a question and answer session.

2025/2026 Executive Committee

The PaCSON community welcomes the Executive Committee (EC) for 2025/2026:

Papua New Guinea as Chair
Tonga as Deputy Chair
Nauru as Incoming Chair

We thank Kiribati for their time served on the Executive Committee as they handover their role as Chair to PNG.

Some reflections from our PaCSON members:

“Attending my first PaCSON AGM on Kiritimati Island was an unforgettable experience. The island’s beauty set the perfect backdrop for meaningful collaboration, inspiring discussions, and regional unity. I left feeling energized, proud, and deeply connected to our shared cybersecurity mission across the Pacific. Grateful for the opportunity and community.”

Elisha from Ministry of Communication, Fiji

“It was unique to visit the beautiful Kiritimati Island as my first trip to Kiribati Islands. A paradise hidden but the first to see the sunrise in the world. The two-days on then lovely experience of the weekend, then last 2 days. The AGM was very engaging and exciting each day, plus the splendid hospitality of the government of Kiribati and the people of Kiritimati Island. Well done Kiribati Team.”

‘Esau from CERT Tonga, Tonga

“Attending the PaCSON AGM provided an excellent chance to build network with other Pacific Island governments, interact with colleagues in the area, and exchange cyber-resilience best practices. I was driven to adopt innovative tactics inside my organization and inspired by the group's dedication to protecting digital infrastructure. Hearing directly from Pacific practitioners, investigating useful incident-response frameworks, and building relationships across islands reinforced that cyber-security is truly a shared journey in our region.”

Lenton from SIG ICT Services, Solomon Islands

2025 PaCSON Annual General Meeting Kiritimati Island, Kiribati