There is good reason to be concerned that last week’s internet outage primarily affected some of Africa’s major trading blocs, namely Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Liberia and Ivory Coast. Internet outages are questionable. This is an attack on democracy, trade and continental independence.
The important question we need to ask is: Why should Africa’s major trading bloc be hit by this cyberstorm, especially at a time when some African countries are seriously preparing for general elections? Thing. Excuses for submarine cable disruptions should not be taken lightly. There is much more to it from a geocyberpolitics perspective. This should be investigated to its logical conclusion.
If the story of the technological revolution remains the same, Africa may experience more complex internet and cyber warfare. Even more concerning is the level of vulnerability this virus poses to a continent with more than 500 million people online. We believe that the era of information and communication technology and digital transformation has ushered in new communities with their own complexities, and that we must deal with this paradigm shift with great care in order to survive in the global landscape. We need to wake up to the fact that there is.
How do you think you would run your business and manage the continent’s affairs under such a managed system? At this stage of increasing complexity of global competition, the continent would not have complete control over its cyber and internet architecture. It is interesting to note that countries and countries will be exposed to serious security threats with devastating consequences. Can you imagine what would happen if the US Internet or the Russian or Chinese Internet were under the control of such a cyberspace architecture? No way! They won’t make the same mistakes as infantry.
The technology war between China and the United States requires the continent as a whole to reorient its investment policies towards homegrown innovations in information and communication technology. Elon Musk’s internet revolution has an antidote to some of these internet blackouts, and he is procuring some of these gadgets as a short-term strategic imperative to protect the integrity of the continent. Deployment requires serious steps as a matter of business and political risk management. Difficult elections ahead. We need to take deliberate steps to refocus our efforts on the future.
The security threat is unprecedented. All sectors of our society, from the private sector to the public sector, are being impacted immeasurably. Corporate risk managers, civil society organizations and policy makers must step up their efforts to avoid the devastating impact this disaster will have on business and social life.
In the area of governance, decisions that rely on data transfer and processing are also affected. National security is at risk. And if we are to put risk management at the heart of our country, and indeed Africa as a whole, we need to build robust internet and enterprise security and infrastructure, no matter what the cost. Our independence becomes meaningless if our cybersecurity is controlled by someone else. This affects not only public and private business, but also our national dignity and privacy.
The State of Cybersecurity Resilience (2023) report highlights the growing need to protect and secure digital assets and critical information. With this in mind, we need to take strong measures to protect our future in the ever-increasing fog of cyberterrorism.
As part of the risk assessment and mitigation measures, I have requested not only state agencies but also private entities, especially the financial and security sectors, to assess corporate accounts in order to speed up or remediate potential hacks to financial security, data and information security. We strongly urge you to strictly audit your personal accounts. Overall.
Additionally, the success of projects and programs across all continents, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, has been driven by proactive cybersecurity measures, policies and strategic investments made at government, regional and continental levels to maintain competitiveness. It must also be remembered that this can only be achieved and maintained if and resilience on the world’s front lines.
The African Development Bank should champion and reverse this leadership failure on the continent, with such transformational leadership at the forefront of Africa’s sustainable development.
- Leadership and management expert Dr. Donald Agumenu writes via Donaldcogan@yahoo.com:
