The Realities and
Challenges of Cyber Crime
and Cyber Security in Africa
Prof Raymond Akwule
President/CEO
Digital Bridge Institute
2011 Workshop on Cyber Security and Global Affairs
With focus on
International Cyber Security Governance, Human
Factors, Policies and Technologies
DBH, Budapest, Hungary
May 31 to Jun 2, 2011
The Dilemma of the Information
Society
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The benefits of the Information Society are well
known …
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But the Information society has also created the new
problems of Cyber Crime and Cyber Security
Cybercrime and Cyber Security in the
Information Society
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Definition
Cybercrime -- all criminal offences which are
committed with the aid of, or targeted at,
communication devices in a network. This can
be for example the Internet, the telephone
line or the mobile network.
Cybercrime and Cyber Security in the
Information Society
Why are Cyber Crimes on the Rise?
1. They are easy to learn how to commit;
2. They require few resources relative to the potential damage
caused;
3. They can be committed in a jurisdiction without being
physically present in it;
4. They are often not clearly illegal.
Issues and Challenges of Cyber
security in Africa
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Internet penetration is still relatively low but it is growing
in Africa
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Broadband penetration is very low
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Mobile Telecommunications is growing exponentially
Issues and Challenges of Cyber
Security in African
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Increasingly more Cybercrimes are perpetrated through
mobile phones
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Social networking is on the rise and increasingly
cybercrimes are perpetrated through the social networks
(facebook, etc)
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Cyber criminals target people inside and outside their
national boundaries
Issues and Challenges of Cyber
Security in African
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Cloud computing is just being introduced into the
continent but it has met with a lot of skepticism.
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Uncertainty about cloud security is evident in a Global Risk
Survey by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, with 77% of
respondents believing cloud made protecting privacy more
difficult and 50% expressing worries about data breach or loss.
In a further IBM survey 66% cite security as their top concern
when considering cloud.
The good news is that enterprises and governments around the
world are addressing cloud’s privacy, authentication and
security issues, and turning the promise of cloud computing
into reality .
Cyber Security Initiatives in Africa
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The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
(UNECA) is addressing cyber security within the
framework of African Information Society Initiative
(AISI). It advocates coherent and coordinated
continental and regional approach to cyber security,
as well as enhanced consideration of the issue in
national ICT and Information Society strategies and
action plans.
Cyber security Initiatives in Africa
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According to the UNECA, African governments are
demonstrating increased awareness of cyber security
issues, but existing capability to deter, monitor or
pursue cyber security is relatively low. The UNECA
cyber security initiative is implemented in cooperation
with the African Union in order to arrive at
harmonized legal framework, and especially with
guidelines on: Cyber crime; Personal data protection;
Electronic transactions; e-Signature / Certification;
Cyber security.
Cyber security Initiatives for Africa
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CTOs Cyber security Forum 2011 aims to build on the
achievements made in 2010 by encouraging a discourse on Cyber
security between principal policy makers and ICT regulators from
across the Commonwealth, particularly from Africa, with Global
experts. The event will examine eight critical aspects of Cyber
security:
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Protecting Government networks
Protecting banking networks
International Cooperation
Protection of children online
Security in the Cloud
SPAM
Identity theft and data protection
Privacy on the Net
Cyber security Initiatives in Africa
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Mauritius adopted a holistic approach in ensuring
cyber security as the country views ICT as a pillar of
national development and plans to make the country
a national ICT hub.
The country’s National Information Security Strategic
Plan is a part of the National Information
Communication Technologies Strategic Plan 2007 –
2011 and Mauritius has set up a comprehensive legal
framework along with an implementation and
institutional framework.
Enforcement has been improved with the setting up of
the Police Cyber crime unit in 2000 and the CERT-Mu in
2008.
Cyber security Initiatives in Africa
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The cyber security taskforce of East African
Communications Organization (EACO) consisting of
ICT Regulators and Operators of Kenya Uganda and
Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi, was formed in 2008
to coordinate the development and of a cyber security
management framework for the EACO region.
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It is tasked with establishment of national CERTs,
coordinating responses to cyber security incidents at
the regional level; establishing regional and
international partnership; and providing Regional
Cyber security Incident Reports annually to the EACO
member countries.
Cyber security Initiatives in Africa
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Managing Cyber security in the EACO member
countries is hampered by the lack of policy, legal and
regulatory frameworks; lack of national security
management frameworks; and limited cyber security
awareness among other factors
Conclusions/Recommendations
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African governments are demonstrating increased
awareness of cyber security issues, but existing
capability to deter, monitor or pursue cyber security is
relatively low. Efforts to promote cyber security
should focus on the following:
Create awareness and build capacity of key decisionmakers to implement robust Cybersecurity frameworks
Help identify resilient technical measures, appropriate
organizational structures and strong laws and
regulations
Facilitate partnerships between different stakeholders
to facilitate the flow of information, expertise and
resources
Promote international cooperation
Conclusions/Recommendations
Efforts to promote cyber security in Africa should
specifically target the following:
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Capacity Building
International Cooperation
Security for Mobile communications
Establishment of Policy and Legal frameworks
Protection of children online
Security in the Cloud
Identity theft and data protection
Privacy on the Net
Thank You!!!
Prof Raymond Akwule
President, Digital Bridge Institute
 rakwule@dbieducation.org
 rakwule@yahoo.com
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Cybercrime and Cyber Security in the
Information Society
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Types of Cybercrime
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Auction Fraud
Auction Fraud — Romania
Counterfeit Cashier's Check
Credit Card Fraud
Debt Elimination
Parcel Courier Email Scheme
Employment/Business Opportunities
Escrow Services Fraud
Identity Theft
Internet Extortion
Investment Fraud
Lotteries
Nigerian Letter or "419"
Phishing/Spoofing
Ponzi/Pyramid
Reshipping
Spam
Third Party Receiver of Funds
Telecom Fraud
Top Ten Countries (Cyber Crime
Perpetrators)
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2008
1. United States 66.1%
2. United Kingdom 10.5%
3. Nigeria 7.5%
4. Canada 3.1%
5. China 1.6%
6. South Africa 0.7%
7. Ghana 0.6%
8. Spain 0.6%
9. Italy 0.5%
10. Romania 0.5%
2010
1. United States 91.2%
2. Canada 1.5%
3. United Kingdom 1.0%
4. Australia 0.7%
5. India 0.5%
6. South Africa 0.2%
7. Germany 0.2%
8. Mexico 0.2%
9. France 0.2%
10. Philippines 0.2%
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FBI Reports