Fem ting, Sydafrika skal gøre for at bekæmpe cyberkriminalitet

Cyberangreb er stigende globalt, med alvorlige negative konsekvenser for landes strategiske, nationale, økonomiske og sociale velfærd.

Et cyberangreb kan defineres som et uautoriseret forsøg – succesfuldt eller ej – på at infiltrere en computer eller computersystem med ondsindede formål. Årsagerne til sådanne angreb varierer fra økonomisk vinding til spionage, indsamling af strategisk og national information og efterretninger om en modstander. En sådan modstander kan være en nationalstat, en virksomhedsenhed eller en privatperson.

Det autoritative internationale Cybercrime Magazine forventer, at de globale omkostninger til cyberkriminalitet vil vokse med 15 % om året i løbet af de næste fem år og nå 10,5 billioner dollars om året i 2025, og rapporterer:"Dette repræsenterer den største overførsel af økonomisk rigdom i historien, risikerer incitamenterne til innovation og investering, er eksponentielt større end skaderne fra naturkatastrofer på et år, og vil være mere rentabel end den globale handel med alle større illegale stoffer tilsammen."

En 2022-rapport fra Surfshark, det hollandsk-baserede virtuelle private netværk (VPN) servicevirksomhed, viser de 10 bedste lande i verden med hensyn til tæthed af cyberkriminalitet. Cyberkriminalitetstæthed er defineret som procentdelen af ​​cyberofre pr. en million internetbrugere. Sydafrika er nummer seks på listen, hvor Storbritannien, USA, Canada, Australien og Grækenland indtager pladsen et til fem. Storbritannien har derfor den højeste cyberkriminalitetstæthed. Det betyder, at den har mest cyberkriminalitet. En årsag til Sydafrikas dårlige fremvisning kan ligge i det faktum, at en Accenture-rapport fra 2020 fandt, at landets internetbrugere var uerfarne og mindre teknisk opmærksomme.

I maj kom der angiveligt et datalæk hos Transunion, et kreditadministrationsfirma, i fare for 54 millioner sydafrikaners personlige oplysninger. Præsident Cyril Ramaphosa var blandt ofrene.

I 2021 bragte et succesrigt cyberangreb på Transnet, den halvstatlige transport, containerterminalerne i stå, hvilket forstyrrede import og eksport. Dette havde massive strategiske og økonomiske konsekvenser.

Cyberkriminelle bevæger sig i stigende grad fra at målrette virksomhedssystemer til slutbrugerne – de medarbejdere, der betjener computere og har adgang til virksomhedernes virksomhedsdata og netværkssystemer.

Dårlig cybersikkerhedsbevidsthed og træning af slutbrugere er en af ​​grundene til, at cyberangreb lykkes i Sydafrika. I både Transunion- og Transnet-angrebene blev der opnået uautoriseret adgang via slutbrugere.

Cyberangreb forventes at blive mere sofistikerede, efterhånden som kriminelle udnytter teknologier som kunstig intelligens. Jeg er en cybersikkerhedsekspert og akademiker, som har set det voksende problem med cyberangreb i Sydafrika og internationalt i løbet af de sidste 30 år. Efter min erfaring skal fem nøgleingredienser være på plads i cybersikkerhedsøkosystemet for at bekæmpe cyberkriminalitet i Sydafrika:

• anerkendelse af cyberkriminalitet som et styringsproblem
• skilled practitioners and advisors
• savvy citizens
• public-private partnership
• a dedicated "national director of cybersecurity."

The five key ingredients

1. Fighting cybercrimes must be a governance issue

This is a core principle in all national and international good corporate governance practices. In private companies that role falls on the boards of directors and executive management. It's part of the oversight and code of conduct of top management.

For the government it means that the president and cabinet should be responsible for ensuring that the country is resilient against cyber-attacks.

2. Skilled cyber practitioners and advisors are vital

There is a dire need for cybersecurity capacity globally. South Africa is no exception.

This shortage is experienced both in government and in the private sector. South Africa needs a large number of cybersecurity practitioners and advisers to help users to identify and prevent cyber-attacks. These should ideally be available in all government institutions, including every municipality, hospital and school.

The skills shortage is being addressed by universities and private colleges, but this is but a drop in the ocean because the output is limited and takes several years to produce. The fact is that such cybersecurity practitioners do not necessarily all have to have university degrees. In the U.K., for example, the government's National Cybersecurity Center has a program called CyberFirst, directed towards schools.

Such a program could have significant benefits for South Africa, including providing jobs for talented young people who do not have the money or interest to pursue tertiary studies.

3. Citizens must be cybercrime savvy

All computer end users must be empowered to be cybercrime fighters to make the country, companies and other institutions more resilient.

Security is everyone's job. Everyone from the entry-level to top management should know how to identify and report breaches so they can defend the enterprise.

New, more effective approaches must be found to make end users more aware of cyber risks and integrate them better into the enterprise's cyber defenses. One example of such a new approach can be modeled on the idea of a human firewall, where every end user understands that he or she is part of the cyber defense of the country or company, and acts in that way.

4. Public-private partnership is imperative

The government cannot fight cybercapture on its own. Most of the present cyber expertise lies in the private sector. The private sector is basically running a major part of South Africa's critical information infrastructures—such as for banks, internet service providers and cellphone service companies.

Public-private partnerships must be established as soon as possible to combat cybercrimes. This idea is already provided for in the original National Cybersecurity Policy Framework of 2013. But the political will from government to make it work seems missing and no such partnerships have really developed.

5. Have a dedicated 'national cybersecurity director'

Cybersecurity experts and functionaries in the government and the private sector often operate in independent silos. Nobody has the required "helicopter view" and oversight of the status of cybercrime in the country. Not sharing scarce cybersecurity expertise between role players ends up in expensive duplication of expensive software systems and training, which could be more widely available.

South Africa needs a national bureaucrat, or "national cybersecurity director" to play an oversight role. The office must act as a single point of contact for all cyber-related matters in the country. The incumbent must be technically skilled in cyber matters, and have the trust of both government and private sector role players.

He or she must report directly to parliament—something like Chapter 9 institutions, which strengthen the country's democracy—as provided under the constitution.The U.S., the U.K. and Rwanda have all created such a position or agency. + Udforsk yderligere

Africa grapples with way forward on cybercrime

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