E-Business
Africa’s Data Security Readiness at Low Levels – Report
Despite a high level of IT security awareness and robust corporate IT governance policies in Africa, the level of data security preparedness is still very low.
This is according to the 2019 “State of Information Security Preparedness in Africa: Data Protection Survey”, compiled by information risk solutions provider, Arcon Techsolutions.
More than 100 industry IT professionals, CIOs and CISOs from Kenya, Nigeria, SA and Ghana were surveyed to establish the state of Africa’s IT and data security preparedness.
The survey highlights that African organisations remain increasingly vulnerable to data breaches. As a result, organisations will have to reinforce their privileged access to secure confidential and sensitive corporate data.
Root cause
The majority of the survey participants believe the root cause for the steep rise in data breaches on the continent is mainly due to a compromised user or privileged account, with 79% of the survey participants agreeing to that fact.
Unfortunately, the awareness alone is not enough to build up a secure IT environment, notes the survey.
“Implementing best privileged account management practices like access based on only need-to-know and principle-of-least-privilege, along with frequent randomisation of privileged credentials, can make the IT security posture more robust.”
According to the survey, 74% of the participants accepted that privileged access management (PAM) is a major area of concern for information security.
Paresh Makwana, cyber security expert and business development consultant at Arcon Techsolutions, says organisations’ IT attack surface expands when adequate attention is not given to secure the access control mechanism.
“Typically, administrative accounts are targeted by malicious insiders or compromised third-party users and sometimes organised cyber criminals. They are always on the lookout to steal or misuse information by making an unauthorised access to target systems.
“Privileged access management practice helps an organisation to establish a rule- and role-based centralised access control policy over users. Therefore, any malicious attempt to breach sensitive information is prevented and the IT administrator receives alert messages about the suspicious activities.”
The survey adds: “To overcome these enormous IT pain-points and secure enterprise databases and critical business applications from malicious activities, enterprises need to adopt best privilege account management practices.
“Privileged access management offers the security team with a foundation to build a robust mechanism to manage, monitor and control privileged identities as every access to target systems is authorised, authenticated and documented.”
Governing policies
Responding to the question whether their companies follow digital or cyber governance policies, most of the participants (88.3%) acknowledged they have information security and governance policies within their organisations.
However, according to the survey, hardly any of those policies emphasise the security of privileged accounts that are the gateways to crucial and confidential data. “Most of the organisations confessed they have not invested in privileged access management solutions to date, which is a matter of genuine concern.”
Three percent of the respondents revealed they don’t know whether their companies follow information security and governance policies, while 7.8% indicated they are unaware.
Under discussion
In regards to the issue of data theft as a key topic within boardroom discussions, 50.6% of the survey respondents indicated ‘no’ to that question, with 44.2% saying ‘yes’. The remainder (5.3%) were ‘not sure’.
The survey states: “In spite of rampant data breach incidents hurting organisations, surprisingly, around 50.6% of respondents believe data theft is not a recurrent subject of boardroom discussions.
“IT security personnel should make this matter more pronounced to the management and board so that everyone is on the same page regarding steps taken to mitigate data security threats.”
Fear factor
Answering the question to what they fear the most, 33.7% highlighted phishing or malware remains the top of the list of their security threats.
The survey also observes that three-quarters of security professionals surveyed fear third-party IT users, insiders and targeted attacks.
“It is important to note the IT attack surface widens due to unmonitored privileged accounts. Malicious third-party IT users, disgruntled corporate insiders and organised cyber criminals snoop privileged credentials to target confidential information.”
Money matters
The survey participants (48%) felt the IT risk and security management team would like to invest in PAM, followed by database activity monitoring (41.55%) and identity access management (36.36%).
In addition, 33.76% voiced their opinion for security compliance management and mobile device management, according to the survey.
“Governance, risk and compliance is also seen as a matter of concern because almost 25.97% respondents held that opinion; and finally, 11.68% respondents felt both identity access management and PAM technologies will be critical IT security investment areas.”
Amazon’s management on Wednesday said that it expects that artificial intelligence software will reduce the number of office workers at the world’s largest online retailer.
Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon
“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs,” Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon wrote in an email to employees.
He said it was difficult to predict how the overall workforce will evolve, but in the next few years, it is expected that AI efficiency gains will lead to a reduction in the number of office workers.
According to earlier reports, Amazon employed around 1.5 million people worldwide, with approximately 350,000 office employees in various roles.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the company does not anticipate further large-scale layoffs, as seen in 2022 and 2023, in the near future.
Instead, it expects that vacant positions will not be refilled.
However, layoffs are not ruled out, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“Amazon is focusing on so-called AI agents, software capable of independently performing tasks. These agents could, for example, summarise information from the web and data sources, write software, translate languages and automate many time-consuming tasks,” Mr Jassy explained.
“Agents will be teammates that we can call on at various stages of our work,” he added, urging employees to experiment with AI whenever possible.
The impact of AI on the job market has been a concern for many years.
Recently, Spotify, the leader in music streaming, announced that teams requesting additional staff would first need to prove that AI could not perform the tasks.
The creators of the language-learning app Duolingo plan to gradually replace external workers with AI.
Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to data protection in Nigeria.
He disclosed this in a statement at the weekend by Zira Nagga, head of Public Relations, BPP, following a courtesy visit by a delegation from the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Adedokun stressed that data protection is vital to Nigeria’s economy and development, particularly in areas such as demography, health, education, and other key sectors.
He emphasised that no country should leave its data unprotected, as it plays a crucial role in future planning and national development.
“Data governs the world. It is essential to technological progress and must be protected for a country or business to be taken seriously,” he said.
Adedokun described the visit, aimed at fostering partnership on data policy implementation and protection, as timely and aligned with national goals.
He said the BPP would collaborate closely with the NDPC to boost data development, capacity building, and enhance the procurement system.
“The BPP will support compliance as part of the ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, although it is not a core procurement eligibility requirement,” he explained.
He suggested a hybrid training model to help build strong capacity in data protection, privacy awareness, and policy understanding.
According to him, a dynamic training approach will reduce logistics costs and improve public confidence in data safety and privacy.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, CEO, and national commissioner, NDPC, praised Adedokun and the BPP for supporting data protection initiatives.
He said the partnership supports President Bola Tinubu’s vision and will strengthen data privacy across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
“The collaboration will create awareness and train BPP staff to ensure a firm grasp of data protection principles and policies,” he stated.
Olatunji said the NDPC would establish a working group to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding beneficial to both institutions.
He added that President Tinubu signed the NDPC into law on 12 June 2023 to uphold citizens’ rights and protect national and business data.
Olatunji also noted that strict legal measures were in place to enforce data protection and ensure full compliance nationwide.
Both agencies agreed to form a team to sign the MoU and focus on capacity building and data management in procurement and beyond.
President Bola Tinubu said that his administration has initiated a project to install fibre optic cables across the country, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic development of Nigeria.
His plans were contained in a speech he delivered at a joint session of the National Assembly in commemoration of Democracy Day on Thursday, June 12.
He said the fibre optic layout is part of other projects being embarked on.
“In addition, we have embarked on an ambitious project to lay fibre optic cables across the nation, a transformative step toward bridging the digital divide and fostering greater connectivity.
“This initiative promises not only to enhance the speed and reliability of internet access but also to revolutionise how businesses operate, how students learn, and how communities stay connected,” Tinubu stated.
He maintained that by extending this critical infrastructure, his government is empowering entrepreneurs, enabling digital education, and providing the tools for our youth to compete in a globalised world.
In a most recent report on Internet connectivity, The ICIR pointed out how Nigeria has faced setbacks in its deployment of fibre optic cables and needs a transformation.
The challenges revolve around vandalism, inadequate coordination between road construction and telecom infrastructure, and varying right-of-way (RoW) charges across states.
Among industry experts, these issues impact network outages, increase repair costs, and hinder broadband expansion efforts.
It has also further threatened the digital economy, leading to slower Internet speeds, dropped calls, and unreliable connectivity among others.
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