Fighting Cybercrime in Africa

Cyber threat is a big issue in Africa. A lot of cybercrime emanates from the continent, and threats spread easily because many servers and computers are not properly protected. Africa, as a continent, is vulnerable to a range of online criminal activities, including financial fraud, drugs and human trafficking, and terrorism. A Deloitte survey published by BuddeComm, an independent research and consultancy company , in the year 2011, found that banks in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia alone had lost US$245 million to cyber fraud which is quite a lot of money for countries without a highly developed banking systems. The aim of this study was to assess the efforts being made by African countries in fighting cybercrime. Towards this direction, specific structures put in place by East and West African countries were reviewed with Africa's capacity to win the fight against cybercrime as an overriding concern. The research revealed that the way forward is for Africa to learn from the experience of developed countries in fighting cybercrime. The fight against cybercrime requires coordinated effort among all stake holders such as government bodies, educational institutions, business organizations and law enforcement authorities.