By Abdelmonem Fawzi
Our lives are increasingly shifting online and the Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated digital transformation.
The problem is that cybercriminals have exploited this opportunity to attack vital digital infrastructure.
States across Africa, where the digital capacity continues to lag behind the rest of the world, have emerged as a favorite target of cybercriminals, albeit with costly consequences.
What happened in the second-largest hospital operator in South Africa was horrible.
It was hit by a cyber-attack in the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak, paralyzing the 6,500-bed private healthcare provider, forcing it to switch manual back-up systems.
In early October 2020, Uganda’s telecoms and banking sectors were plunged into crisis due to a major hack that compromised the country’s mobile money network, usage of which has significantly increased during the pandemic. At least $3.2 million is estimated to have been stolen in that incident, in which hackers used around 2,000 mobile SIM cards to gain access to the mobile money payment system.
The problem is that states across Africa lack a dedicated public cybersecurity strategy.
Africa is the fastest growing region of the world for Internet penetration and for use of mobile-based financial services. However, it has become an increasingly attractive area for cybercriminals.
Between 2005 and 2020, internet growth in Africa was 10 %. It is projected to grow by three folds by 2025.
We are badly in need of cybersecurity measures to be put in place, law-enforcement and consumer protection services.
The good news is that for the first time, the African Summit of Heads of State and Government on Cybersecurity was officially held recently in Lomé, Togo.
The opening ceremony of the summit was presided over by Togolese President, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, in the presence of the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Dr. Vera Songwe, as well as several members of the government of Togo and other countries of the continent.
The meeting took place in the form of exchanges structured in panels, networking and demonstrations that allowed participants to assess the state of cybersecurity and co-operation in Africa from the point of view of several constituent elements.
It also allowed them to propose policy recommendations to African leaders.
“It is about developing synergies to fight crime in the digital transition, a revolution of our time that opens remarkable opportunities for humanity” President Gnassingbe said.
He urged other African countries to ratify the African Union Convention on Cybersecurity and Personal Data Protection adopted in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on June 27, 2014.
“The ratification of the Malabo Convention, which makes Togo only the 11th country to have deposited the instruments of ratification of this text, will allow it to benefit from co-operation with other states of the African Union regarding the protection of personal and state data,” he said.
For her part, Songwe said she believed Africa offers a wealth of economic opportunities in virtually every sector.
“The digital economy represents a key asset to unlock these opportunities by accelerating development outcomes through Africa’s demographic dividend,” She said.
She cited the International Finance Corporation and Google in saying that Africa’s internet economy is expected to contribute $180 billion to the continent’s overall economy by 2025, rising to $712 billion by 2050.
Songwe recommended that each African nation create its own National Cybersecurity Programme.
“Of the 54 African countries, 28 have data protection legislation (52%), and 6 are in the process of drafting legislation (11%),” Songwe said.
At the closing of the summit, the governments of 28 countries across Africa committed themselves to the advancement of a healthy and prosperous cyberspace.
Delegates committed to the Lomé Declaration on Cybersecurity and the Fight Against Cybercriminality, which means that they will collaborate “to develop cybersecurity strategies and policies relevant to the sensitisation of the masses and the training of IT security personnel”.
Participants also agreed to push through the signature and ratification of the African Union (Malabo) Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection – which seeks to enable the development of a safe African cyberspace.
Strengthened cybersecurity is one objective. Another is to give investors in Africa confidence, accelerate digital transformation and boost the adoption of digital solutions.
To this end, plans are in place to implement a legal and regulatory framework specific to cybersecurity, regulatory bodies and the fight against cybercrime.
The Lomé Declaration also holds promise of strengthening African co-operation by supporting the creation of sub-regional bodies for mutual assistance in the field of cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime.
This ceremony was an opportunity for the ministers gathered at the summit to make a declaration called the Lomé Declaration on cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime to commit to signing and ratifying the Malabo Convention and strengthen African co-operation in cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime.
