Africa must act now to address cybersecurity threats.
Here’s why:
- In a globally-integrated financial market, robust and resilient cybersecurity is a non-negotiable prerequisite for investment across the world.
- But effective cybersecurity remains a challenge across Africa, with many organizations unprepared for cyber attacks.
- Efforts should be made to improve cybersecurity and employee awareness to build resilient organizations people want to invest in.
The ability to protect the data of partners and clients is today one of the fundamentals behind every business decision. Today’s fluid financial markets provide a plethora of access points for malicious actors to penetrate systems and acquire data. These have to be protected.
A system is only as strong as its weakest point. Therefore, as communication and financial networks become globalised, impregnable cybersecurity is becoming a prerequisite for investment in any territory.
However, cybersecurity on the African continent remains challenging and many companies are unprepared for cyber attacks.
In addition, only a handful of countries have laws in place to protect consumers and businesses. The Global Cybersecurity Index (2021) shows that of 54 African countries assessed, only 29 have introduced cybersecurity legislation.
In 2022, 52% of companies in Africa believed that they were unprepared to handle a large-scale cyber attack.
The reality is grimmer; Interpol’s Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report found that more than 90% of businesses on the continent were operating without the necessary cybersecurity protocols.
Full article on World Economic Forum by Shane McCarthy.
