Partnerships needed to fight cybersecurity threats
Criminal elements, particularly in the shared cyberspace arena were undesirable, and needed to be rooted out through innovative initiatives and partnerships aimed at combating cyber crime.
This was the message South African Minister of State Security David Mahlobo, delivered during the closing session of the State Security Cybersecurity Conference in Pretoria on Thursday.
“Our mandate is to secure South Africa’s sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence, her people, critical infrastructure, assets and interests within the security cluster,” he said.
Technological advances had made life easier and information more accessible to more people to help grow economies and create jobs, but Mahlobo warned attacks on any of these networks would potentially have disastrous consequences for individuals and for society.
“Nations cannot secure their national sovereignty unless they assess the new emerging threats accordingly,” Mahlobo said.
He said there needed to be partnerships between government and the private sector, universities and society to fight the scourge of cyber crime and to develop solutions that will protect “our country against this world-wide phenomenon”.
Governments need to ensure they are “putting measures in place to protect their territorial integrity, national security and critical infrastructures and citizens against cyber-attacks, cyber terrorism and cyber warfare”.
Mahlobo said it was important to “expand the traditional notions of security to address the non–traditional security threats and so develop a comprehensive approach to security”.
These non-traditional security threats included energy, security, environmental degradation, forced immigration and international terrorism. - ANA
(File photo: Gallo Images)