TECHDIGEST – Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has tasked African governments on need to implement actionable policies and strategies that support a continent-wide cybersecurity.

Professor Pantami made the call Wednesday in Dubai while delivering the opening address at the Global Africa Forum of the Gulf Information Security Expo and Conference (GISEC), holding at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), UAE.

READ ALSO : GISEC 2022: Microsoft Underlines Need For Zero Trust Approach In Hybrid Workplace

In his detailed presentation, the minister who quoted copiously from his book; Cybersecurity Initiatives For Securing A Country, stressed the need for a deliberate and inclusive plan centred around developing a National Digital Economy Policy (NDEP) to serve as the overarching policy for issues relating to cybersecurity.

An NDEP will guide in conducting a baseline study to identify the main cyber threats and the key elements of the cybersecurity ecosystem and developing a national cybersecurity policy or law., the minister added.

He also talked about enhancing and protecting critical ICT national infrastructure, capacity building, establishing a national cybersecurity centre to include a shield to scan and provide a safety score for government and critical websites, and the enhancement of data protection and privacy, among others.

Pantami further harped on the importance of digital identity as an enabler for cybersecurity.

His words: “the international community through the agreement of target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals, calls for all UN member states to provide legal identity for all including birth registration by the year 2030. This is in recognition of the role of digital identity systems in supporting multiple development goals”.

The Nigerian minister, who oversees the largest digital economy in Africa, illustrated the strategies to a secure continental cyberspace using Nigeria as an example as most of the strategies outlined have already been adopted or are in full effect in the country.

A Professor of Cybersecurity with the Federal University of Technology Owerri, (FUTO), Pantami also discussed the importance of the government-industry-academia triple helix model for promoting cybersecurity in Africa.

In attendance were, Chief Legal Adviser, Ministry of National Security Ghana, Osai Bonsu; Chief Cybersecurity Officer, South Africa, DicksonIshaaq Jacobs; Director General, Nigeria’s Information Technology and Development Agency (NITDA), Kashif Inuwa Abdullahi; Director General, Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Abdulaziz Aliyu; and other cybersecurity experts from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The post GISEC 2022: Pantami Tasks African Governments On Actionable Strategies To Support Continent’s Cybersecurity appeared first on Tech Digest News.

TECHDIGEST – Microsoft has reiterated its commitment to securing the hybrid workplace of the future through its participation at GISEC 2022, the Middle East and North Africa’s leading cybersecurity event.

The company’s participation is aligned with the objectives of the UAE Government as it bids to design laws and processes that can strengthen its cybersecurity posture and fend off an increasingly sophisticated array of cyber-attacks.

“Security has never been more critical for our customers given the evolving threat landscape and the move to hybrid work that so many companies are now forced to navigate,” said Sayed Hashish, General Manager, Microsoft UAE.

ALSO READ : Microsoft launches  first $100 million African Development Centre in Lagos

“At Microsoft, we have been hard at work to empower our customers to defend themselves against cyber threats, and we have earned their trust: we generated $15 billion in security revenue in 2021, up nearly 45% from the prior year. This makes Microsoft the biggest security company in terms of revenue and allows us to further strategically invest in our security offering: in 2020, we committed to invest $20 billion over five years, a four-fold increase from previous rates, to speed up its cyber security work. “

The company continues to safeguard the hybrid workplace by providing organizations of all sizes with a host of solutions, such as Microsoft’s Defender for Cloud, which is the only cloud provider with native multi-cloud protection for the industry’s top three platforms, and Microsoft Defender for Business, which helps companies with up to 300 employees defend against cybersecurity threats, including malware, phishing, and ransomware in environments with Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android devices.

“Digital transformation cannot happen without security transformation. Our GISEC participation is aligned with the objectives of the country’s public and private enterprises as they look to secure their digital estates. The growing sophistication of threats is driving widespread change for cybersecurity professionals, enterprises, and governments. Cybersecurity experts must work together as a community and share expertise, research, and insights, “concluded Hashish.

During the next three days, the company is demonstrating the inherent security strengths of the trusted Microsoft Cloud, as well as how regional stakeholders can use Microsoft’s Zero Trust approach to create safer environments for themselves, their employees, and their customers.

Microsoft, as a strategic partner, is exhibiting the use of tools to enable collaborative work in various scenarios, showcasing how innovative devices and platforms can create secure, hybrid workplaces.

Microsoft’s Security Trusted Advisor Paula Januszkiewicz will discuss the ‘hacker’s perspective’ at the GISEC Mainstage, exploring how new risks necessitate a revised set of cybersecurity priorities for 2022. Meanwhile, at the Inspire Stage,
Microsoft UAE’s Marketing Director Inass Farouk will discuss factors inhibiting female empowerment in cybersecurity as well as the importance of mentorship programs and the need for an action-oriented roadmap.

Additionally, Microsoft’s Senior Global Cybersecurity Technical Specialist, Hesham Saad, will be on the X-Lab Stage addressing the issue of rethinking OT and IoT security to mitigate cyber threats.

Moreover, at the Dark Stage, he will be informing delegates about the state of modern-day ransomware attacks and how to fight extortion.

One of the most important aspects of Microsoft’s cloud journey has been to help businesses in the region accelerate their digital transformation capabilities in the most secure way possible.

Its data centers in the UAE are also contributing to job creation, entrepreneurship, and economic growth throughout the Middle East. These cloud regions foster innovation by offering scalable, highly available, and resilient cloud services while maintaining data residency, security, and compliance requirements.

The post GISEC 2022: Microsoft Underlines Need For Zero Trust Approach In Hybrid Workplace appeared first on Tech Digest News.