As the International Cybersecurity Forum ends in France, Africa is falling further and further behind the other continents in terms of cybersecurity. Why ?
Germany, France, Israel, Russia, Switzerland… The list of partners of the International Cybersecurity Forum (FIC), which took place from September 7 to 9 in Lille, France, shows how certain countries have advanced technologically in terms of of security. Africa and America are largely absent from the FIC. To believe that African governments and presidents are not aware of the challenges of cybersecurity. These are not the last cyber attacks in South Africa, which paralyzed several ports in the country and cost several million dollars, which seem to have alerted the rulers of the continent.
However, "we see that the capacity of cybercriminals is growing faster than the capacity of all organizations to protect themselves", summarizes Henri d'Agrain, general delegate of Cigref, a French association specializing in cybersecurity, which recommends to the authorities States to strengthen the means of justice and the police to fight against cybercrime.
In Africa, a study shows an increase in cyber attacks in several countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. “In South Africa, there have been nearly 10 million malware attacks and 43 million PUA (Potentially unwanted applications) detections. Kenyan users have faced even more malware attacks - around 14 million and 41 million PUA appearances, ”according to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.
Inadequate laws and a lack of ambition
However, the continent does not seem to want to take the measure of the danger. On the one hand, “many countries still have not ratified the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, known as the 'Malabo Convention', which could provide a framework for responding to these threats, ”explains Verengai Mabika, from the NGO Internet Society. In other words, the absence of a legal framework on cybersecurity and the lack of knowledge of the digital sector is problematic. On the other hand, because cybersecurity is not the priority of African governments, the resources deployed are not up to the challenges.
However, other continents have already bet on cybersecurity. France, a time behind, is now relying heavily on its digital defense, which guarantees it digital sovereignty. Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, explained last June that “today, the cyber defense professions at the Ministry of the Armed Forces could, very schematically, be divided into four large blocks: the block of protection (how to resist against cyberattack), the intelligence block (how to collect useful information in the cyber space in order to analyze and exploit it), the design and development of complex systems block (how to design the systems of weapons in the light of cyber defense issues) and the last block, that of combat action (the cyber fighter, in particular offensive) ”.
In all, 1,6 billion euros were invested in 2019 for a six-year program. The objective of Paris is to have, by 2025, an army of 4 “cyber fighters”. The French Army now has several specialized units, such as the “000th Electronic Warfare Company” or the “Land Intelligence Center”. To secure the services of the best hackers or cybersecurity specialists, the government had to put in the resources and align its salaries with those of the private sector.
For an African digital sovereignty
A financial investment that could allow Africa to avoid financial routs linked to the internet: the lack of cybersecurity in Africa costs the continent several billion dollars each year. In 2017, Africa lost $ 3,5 billion, according to a report by the Kenyan company Serianu. "The threat posed by computer attacks is now well established in Africa, but governments and the private sector have not yet invested in appropriate defenses to limit the spread," said William Makatiani, CEO of Serianu, who estimated that "the security of computer data must become a priority for public and private institutions".
The idea of increasing cybersecurity in Africa, if it is not yet the priority of governments, is germinating in the heads of private companies. During the first Cyber Africa Forum in Abidjan, last June, all participants unanimously announced the threat of “digital chaos” in Africa. For Roger Adom, the Ivorian Minister of the Digital Economy, “digitizing without protecting is dangerous”. However, this is a bit of a summary of current policy in Africa, where governments leave the management of infrastructure and data centers to GAFAM or to operators like Huawei while China is regularly accused of espionage.
A sector that provides jobs
However, the delay taken by the continent will be difficult to catch up: Africa "must provide for an increasingly glaring shortage of 100 cyber-experts", assures the Center for Strategic Studies of Africa. which concludes that "cyber threats are identical to physical threats: to fight effectively against them, it will be up to African governments to respect the principles of appropriate governance of the security sector".
However, cybersecurity can constitute "a real chance for Africa", estimates Roger Adom, Minister of Digital Economy, Telecommunications and Innovation of Côte d'Ivoire. According to a study by Cybersecurity Ventures, "3,5 million jobs related to this field are vacant in the world". In addition to defending themselves against cybercrime, states could therefore offer a future to hundreds of thousands of young Africans. However, apart from a few training structures, such as the Dakar Cybersecurity School, the continent has not yet taken the measure of cybersecurity. It should be before it is too late.