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Africa’s digital landscape is under siege, with organisations facing an average of 2,960 cyberattacks every week. It’s a staggering number – and it’s growing rapidly every year. According to Checkpoint Research, this year’s number was up 37 percent from the year before.
Not only is Africa suffering thousands of cyberattacks, but it is also the region with the highest weekly average on earth.
The global average stands at 1,636 attacks per week, making Kenya one of the top three most targeted countries in the region, alongside South Africa and Nigeria, with 1,408 attacks per week.
Given the immense scale of this problem, cybersecurity is not just an option but a fundamental necessity for any business, NGO, or government entity operating on the continent.
Cyber vulnerabilities
What makes Africa particularly vulnerable is the continent’s lack of infrastructure and resources due to budget limitations; a lack of awareness of the truly critical nature of the problem; legislative and policy lethargy; and a continuing shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals.
Another vulnerability is the continent’s youthful population. While an enormous asset, having a young population also comes with risks.
Already, 70 percent of Africa’s population is under 30, according to the United Nations, and that youth component is only going to grow.
Young people often lack financial resources and become accustomed to compromising their cybersecurity in order to access connectivity – whether through sharing devices, connecting to wi-fi in public places, or using unencrypted connections.
Another risk is that the youth-focused education sector has become the industry suffering the most cyberattacks. This is partly due to the rise in online education since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Education and research institutions are also often prime targets for cyber criminals, due to the sensitive information they hold and the fact that remote education often involves multiple groups of online users.
Content piracy
Young people are also enthusiastic users of entertainment content. This may make them more willing to seek out pirated content, which comes with significant risks – malware, ransomware, fraud and identity theft, to name just a few.
Despite the risk of piracy in youth-culture channels, Africa’s youth dividend is a significant advantage as the world embraces connected, digital economies. The GSMA predicts that by 2030, Africa will have 438 million mobile internet users – a cohort of savvy, digital natives, ready to work and do business online.
This rapid digital transformation increases the need for robust cybersecurity in African economies. The threat is real. In 2023, Checkpoint found only seven African countries ranked among the top 50 for cybersecurity readiness.
Boosting resilience
Enhancing the continent’s resilience against cyber threats necessitates action on multiple fronts. Firstly, there is a need to prioritise raising awareness and education by integrating cybersecurity education into school curriculums, corporate training programmes, and public awareness campaigns.
Secondly, the management of cybersecurity, being a sophisticated and specialised area, warrants the engagement of experts equipped with relevant, up-to-date skills. Hence, organisations should allocate resources to enlist these experts to establish robust cybersecurity frameworks.
Thirdly, from a legislative standpoint, it is imperative to incorporate cybersecurity considerations into policies to ensure the legislation of cyber-resilience and the prosecution and incarceration of cyber criminals.
This necessitates international and cross-sectoral cooperation.
Fourthly, the establishment of information security infrastructure is crucial for cybersecurity, and it is currently a significant weakness in Africa. Reports indicate that 90 percent of African businesses operate without comprehensive cybersecurity protocols, which hinders their ability to effectively detect, prevent, and respond to cyberattacks.
Lastly, there is a pressing need for enhanced public-private collaboration, leveraging the cybersecurity expertise and agile industry knowledge of the private sector, combined with the resources and policy strength of governments. A coordinated, partnership approach is essential to harness these respective competencies for the benefit of all stakeholders.
It is evident that as a continent, it is essential to recognise the significance of fortifying cyber-resilience to safeguard the future of Africa’s populace.
The writer is the PR Manager at MultiChoice Kenya.
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