The two-day international forum currently under way in Accra, Ghana, is being held on the theme: “Setting the Scene for Cyber Security Status in Africa”. The forum, which is the maiden convergence of the African Union- Global Forum on Cyber Expertise for Africa Cyber Experts (ACE), seeks to establish the Africa Cyber Experts working group to support cyber security capacity building front on the continent and cascade it down to national security of countries.
At the forum, the 31 represented countries renewed calls to work together to secure Africa’s digital ecosystem. However, the meeting comes at a time, when the continent is battling with the ‘serious ramifications of socio-economic development’ partly due to people’s experience relating to growing online fraud, online impersonation, identity theft, scams, and hacking into protected systems.
Expectations are that setting up this Africa Cyber Experts group will help to curtail and strengthen cyberspace for the citizenry.
In 2014, the African Union (AU) adopted the Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection widely referred to as the ‘Malabo Convention.’ This convention seeks to set a legal framework for cyber security, protection of personal data, and security of electronic transactions.
The Gambian team comprises Amadou A. Bah, who doubles as the President Africa Cyber Security Alliance and The Gambia Cyber Security Alliance; Sita Demba Ceesay, Senior Manager Spectrum of PURA; Lang Loum, Deputy Director of ICT MOICI and Sanusi Drammeh, Principal ICT Officer at MOICI.
The Gambian delegation joined other countries in search of appropriate solutions to the growing threats posed by cyber security.
