News item | 05-02-2016
From 19 to 21 January 2016 Senegal organized a cybersecurity maturity review with support of the Netherlands and International Telecomunication Union (ITU) as part of the GFCE Cyber Security Awareness Initiative. The capacity review was carried out by the Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre (GCSCC), University of Oxford, and was premised on the Centre’s Cybersecurity Capacity Maturity Model. The review is part of a broader effort by Senegal to reduce its vulnerabilities to cyber threats and to improve national coordination of cybersecurity.
Opportunities for economic growth
The Government of Senegal wants to strengthen its cybersecurity capacity to reap the benefits from a growing internet economy and IT sector. In order to achieve this Senegal is planning to develop a National Cyber Security Strategy, establish a National Cyber Security Centre and allocate a budget for cybersecurity. As part of the GFCE initiative the Dutch support will focus on the National Cyber Security Strategy and ITU on the National Cyber Security Centre, while the GCSCC will provide wider recommendations across the different dimensions of cybersecurity.
Civil society participation
Approximately 150 local representatives from public and private organizations, academia, the technical community and NGOs took part in the review. Both NGOs and private companies were vocal in their support and demand for improved cybersecurity.
Follow-up GFCE expert meetings
Senegal and the Netherlands have agreed on two follow-up GFCE Expert Meetings in 2016 to which also regional organizations in West Africa will be invited. The first Expert Meeting on 12 and 13 April 2016 will focus on the following themes: cybersecurity threats in Africa, cybersecurity strategy, a national cybersecurity center, cyber awareness and a juridical framework for cybersecurity with international speakers.
