How can African countries strengthen their cybersecurity?

Cyber risks to African national security are becoming increasingly important. These actions are carried out by a diverse set of players, ranging from solitary hackers to nation-states with differing capabilities and goals. However, African governments and security sector players are just beginning to recognize and respond to the ways in which digital technology is reshaping African security. There are four key areas of that threaten security activity:

• Espionage: the most serious worries about cyber espionage in Africa have been attributed to China. After network engineers noted an increase in traffic between the hours of 10am and 2pm, it was revealed in 2018 that all of the content on the servers at the African Union’s headquarters was routinely sent to Shanghai.
• Critical infrastructure sabotage: attacks on critical infrastructure are growing more common in Africa. Banks are regular targets, with billions of dollars lost due to theft and service interruption. Attacks against the Nigerian National Security Agency and the Johannesburg city administration both resulted in service disruptions or the exposure of critical information.
• Organized crime: in 2017, the African business community lost an estimated $3.5 billion due to cyber crime and theft.
• The transforming outlines of the African battleground: drones, artificial intelligence, and the spread of 5G networks are also having a greater impact on military operations and battlefield tactics, from air combat to ground warfare.

So far, most African governments’ responses have lagged behind the fast expansion of cyber threats to their countries. The situation is exacerbated in the African security sector. Leaders in the security sector frequently lack fundamental understanding of the growing convergence of digital security and national security. This has meant that African security forces’ adoption of information, communications, and associated technology into military strategies, operational plans, and tactics is still in its early stages. African governments are unprepared to deal with some of the continent’s more significant and fast emerging cyber threats. Lack of understanding of cyber concerns has contributed to a lack of effective regulation and monitoring, while also increasing chances for abuse.

African governments may take a variety of initiatives to increase their capability to avoid and respond to cyber risks in order to boost cybersecurity. To begin, officials must establish a medium and long-term cybersecurity policy and plan to incorporate cybersecurity into government efforts, as well as the resources required to achieve them. Furthermore, governments must foster a responsible societal cybersecurity culture in order to increase individuals’ and enterprises’ trust in the cyber economy, digital services, and the internet as a whole. Governments must also build the necessary legal structures to govern Internet usage and punish cybercrime.

Fortunately, governments in the area have taken some encouraging initiatives in this regard. As part of its ‘Agenda 2063’ for modernizing Africa, the African Union has designated cybersecurity as a crucial priority to ensuring that new technologies are exploited for the advantage of African citizens, institutions, and nation-states, as well as to secure data protection.