SPECIAL FEATURE
Cybercrime -
the dark side of mobile mania
T
he growth of Africa’s mobile market is well documented – one statistic published by research company Manifest Mind, LLC states that the market is set to quadruple from $60 billion in 2013 to $234 billion by the year 2020. Although opportunities do exist for businesses, experts in ICT security say that the rise of mobility is also fanning the flame of cybercrime. African Innovator Magazine recently spoke to Marco Obiso, Cybersecurity Coordinator at The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), about cybercrime and how cybersecurity can match up to threats across Africa, specifically. What is the official and recognised definition of cybercrime? There is no formal internationally recognized definition of cybercrime. Most of the definitions are in national legislations. A recognized (simple) definition is: criminal activities carried out by means of computers or the Internet. What should people understand by the term ‘cybersecurity’? The ITU agreed definition is: Cybersecurity is the collection of tools, policies, security concepts, security safeguards, guidelines, risk management approaches, actions, training, best practices, assurance and technologies that can be used to protect the cyber environment and organization and user’s assets. Organisation and user’s assets include connected computing devices, personnel, infrastructure, applications, services, telecommunications systems, and the totality of transmitted and/or stored information in the cyber environment. Cybersecurity strives to ensure the attainment and maintenance of the security properties of the organization and user’s assets against relevant
security risks in the cyber environment. The general security objectives comprise the following: • Availability • Integrity, which may include authenticity and non-repudiation • Confidentiality We believe this is one of the most comprehensive definitions of cybersecurity. What is the most common form of cybercrime perpetrated in Africa today? According to ABI Research, the Middle East and Africa regional market for mobile security services will reach $680 Million in revenue by 2018. This shows the growth of mobile security concerns in the region. According to IDG connect, Malware injections are still very high, as well as number of phishing sites infected. Also, software piracy is still one of the top crimes. Are there any statistics available that reflect the magnitude of the problem? No formal statistics. However, all big antivirus companies and technology companies have relevant data on Africa. Kaspersky Lab, Trend Micro, Microsoft, etc. have very solid data. How much damage is caused by cybercrime in reality? Damage goes from loss of credibility and accountability for governments in providing services to citizens to financial loss. An emerging trend is also related to the risks posed by wrong use of ICT by youngsters. Is Africa up to the task of being able to seriously combat threats? Not yet, but recent initiatives, such as the draft African convention of Cybersecurity and
52 AFRICAN INNOVATOR VOLUME 2, ISSUE 2
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