With cybercrime increasing, the Zambia Information Communications Authority (ZICTA) announced on Thursday, that it was investing some ZMK 1.3 billion ($582 000) in battling online criminal activity.
The money will go towards creating a Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) at multiple centres nationwide. The announcement comes less than two days after Kenya declared a similar move to bolster its cybercrime fight.
Choolwe Nalubamba, ZICTA’s numbering and naming manager, said ZICTA “has partnered with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to establish a watch and warn center with a computer system which will regulate mail activities on the internet”.
He said CIRT will create awareness on matters pertaining to cyberthreats, ensuring critical information from various organisations is protected.
“ZICTA is in the process of acquiring equipment at a cost of over ZMK 700 million and the operation cost is ZMK 50 million per month,” the authority said.
African countries like Zambia and Kenya have reported a stark increase in the amount of criminal activity they are witnessing online. East African countries, in particular, are looking at bolstering their internet policing through such centres to curtail the growing number of online criminals.
Joseph Mayton
Good to know.