Rep Calls for Investment in Threat Intelligence as Africa Loses Over $2 Billion to Cyber Attacks

The Chairman of  House of Representatives Committee on Digital, Information Communication Technology and Cyber-Security, Hon Adedeji Olajide has tasked the governments and private sector stakeholders to invest in threat intelligence, incident response, and digital forensic capabilities to effectively combat the growing threat of cyber attacks.

Hon Olajide according to a statement on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Media and Public, Tolu Mustapha, made this known at a roundtable Big Data Expo on the sidelines of the ongoing seminar on Cybersecurity for Belt and Road countries in Shanghai, China.

He stated this while he disclosed that Africa is losing over $2 billion annually to cybersecurity threats.

The lawmaker stressed that there is the need for Africa to close technology divide with the rest of the world to tackle the menace, adding that the technology gap between regions has significant implications for global economic development, innovation and cybersecurity.

According to him, ” investing in threat intelligence, incident response and digital forensic capabilities and fostering partnerships between government, private sector stakeholders and international organizations to promote knowledge sharing, technology transfer and joint research initiatives as ways through with the digital divide between Africa and other global technology world can be bridged.”

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He maintained that closing the technology divide is not only a moral imperative but also an economic and strategic one, with far-reaching benefits for global economic growth, innovation and cybersecurity as africa’s digital economy is expected to grow by 15% annually for the next decade, with the continent having over 400 innovation hubs, with Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt leading the pack, and also mitigating the economic loss on cybersecurity threats which cost africa’s economy over $2 billion annually

Hon Olajide noted that Africa has made remarkable progress in recent years, with a surge in mobile penetration, internet adoption and digital innovation but however lamented that the continent still lags behind in critical areas such as infrastructure development, digital literacy and access to cutting-edge technologies.

While advocating a multifaceted approach focusing on investing in robust digital infrastructure, including broadband connectivity, data centers and network security as part of solutions to the limitations to bridge this divide, he identified others to include – prioritizing education and training programmes in coding, data analysis, cybersecurity and emerging technologies, supporting innovation hubs, incubators and accelerators to foster a vibrant startup ecosystem.