ADF STAFF
As internet use grows in West Africa, leaders are calling for better regional cooperation on cybersecurity. A joint approach can protect citizens, businesses, government institutions and critical infrastructure from online attacks, according to cybersecurity expert Folake Olagunju.
“It has to be a whole society approach,” Olagunju said during a podcast interview with the EU International Partners Academy. Olagunju is the program officer for internet and cybersecurity at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Since 2019, internet use across West Africa has grown by about 25%. That growth has been unevenly distributed across the region, with a high of 62% of Cabo Verdean residents online to a low of 14.5% of Nigeriens.
Cybercriminals are capitalizing on the online growth. They use phishing to gain access to computer systems by sending legitimate-looking emails that contain software designed to invade computer networks or steal personal data. In ransomware attacks, hackers invade companies, such as banks, and lock out users until victims pay a ransom.
Continentwide, Africans experienced 10.7 million phishing attacks in the second quarter of 2022, according to industry data.
Through its Organised Crime: West African Response on Cybersecurity and Fight Against Cybercrime program, ECOWAS has trained law enforcement officials to confront cybercriminals and gather evidence to help prosecute them.
ECOWAS is helping member states modernize their telecommunications sectors to make them more resilient.
Part of the ECOWAS plan is to make sure West African countries are working along similar lines as they develop their cybersecurity plans so they can share information and build trust among themselves.
Olagunju suggests that the ECOWAS model could be replicated across the continent’s other regional blocs, allowing leaders to tailor solutions to their unique cybersecurity problems.
“It might make more sense for countries in the same bloc to reach out to each other,” she said. “It’s no longer ‘you versus me.’ It’s ‘us.’”