08 Jul Kenya to benefit from new UK-funded cyber training program

Kenya is set to benefit from a new cyber training program funded by the UK Commonwealth which aims to sharpen the skills of the country’s IT professionals and civil servants.

The Common Wealth secretariat launched the training, titled ‘The Commonwealth Africa Cyber Fellowship program’, which had its inaugural conference at a Nairobi hotel this week. The programme is aiming to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity and anti-cybercrime laws, policies and institutions. As cybercrime continues to rise across Africa, the training comes at a crucial time for many industries being targeted including banks, institutions and individuals.

Andy Chadwick, the first secretary in the foreign office in charge of Africa Cyber network, said Kenya was doing well in investing in cyber security. He said the country was number five among the countries that had considerable investment in cyber safety, singling out the creation of a cybersecurity entity to take lead in the efforts.

The training programme is funded by the UK’s foreign office and is expected to be carried put across two days focusing on the increasingly complex types, scale, and impact of cybercrime in Africa.

The organisers told reporters that they have brought together experts from different fields, including law enforcement, judges and magistrates, bankers and academics amongst other professionals to share their experiences with attendees.

Tawanda Hondora, the head of rule of law division at the Common Wealth’s secretariat, said the program would “have sufficient funding from our department” and that it aims to have cutting-edge technologies that enable robust cyber safety from malign actors designed.

The secretariat says that Africa loses some $3.5 billion to cybercrime annually and that the training was timely in helping to stop it. In a statement, it said: “Recent reports estimate that cybercrime has cost African economies $3.5 billion USD, and as a result, stalled economic and industrial development, destroyed lives and livelihoods, shredded social fabric, and increased the exploitation of vulnerable communities, including women, girls and the elderly.”