Former Security Chief speaks on security threats in a changing world

A Former National Security Adviser in Ghana, Ambassador, Baba Kamara, has called for effective and collaborative efforts to curb cyber crimes in the West African sub-region.

He advised that Governments across the region, ought to set up procedures, systems and proactive reporting mechanisms to share vital information on fraudulent activities across West Africa.

Ambassador Kamara made these pertinent and sterling observations when he addressed the ALASSANE OUATTARA CENTRE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDIES (CEP) INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP FORUM, IN ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2022. As the Guest of Honour.

The ALASSANE OUATTARA CENTRE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDIES (CEP) is an initiative of the Ivorian President, His Excellency ALASSANE OUATTARA to promote prospective service.

Speaking as the Guest of Honour, Ambassador Kamara, who was a former High Commissioner to Nigeria and a former Permanent Ambassador to Ecowas, observed that the deployment of socio-technical and socio-legal measures to complement law enforcement will provide the needed holistic approach to confront the challenges of cybercrime in West Africa. Leading the discussion ON THE TOPIC “SECURITY RISKS AND THREATS IN A CHANGING WORLD”.

He commended the organisation for organizing International Leadership and that the topic was timely.

Delivering his speech he said There are some excellent writings that try to understand the sense, broadly felt, but little understood, that things move faster these days.

These writers identified some main areas of high-speed change, including but not limited to the accelerating impact of technology and accelerating flows of trade and capital. Socially, this leads to the rapid growth of cities, ageing populations especially in industrialized countries and young populations in the developing world; vastly increased movement of people (migration), both legal and illegal; growing wealth disparities; and many other highly stressful impacts on societies.

A) THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN AFRICA: OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS?

* There are competing views on the threats and opportunities of the development of new technologies in Africa. Some Experts are concerned that automation is displacing low-skilled industrial jobs, meaning Africa’s manufacturing sector might not be able to absorb workers created by the use of innovation and new technologies.

Other experts, however, are of the view that technological disruptions have been a feature of economic transformation since the first industrial revolution. Thus, by replacing low-skill manual jobs while acting as a complement to high-skilled workers, modern technologies raise skill premiums, but also increase income inequalities.

* That said, it is a matter of fact that the relentless spread of networks, sensors, artificial intelligence, and automation across the African continent is driving a revolution to new levels. The use of technologies such as CCTV cameras with facial recognition systems, drones, robots, and “smart cities” are increasing. Digitization is improving national and local government revenue collection and to some extent curbing corruption.

Cameras and facial recognition technologies are helping authorities respond to terrorist attacks. Drones are delivering life-saving medical supplies as in Ghana and Rwanda, for example. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, at least 15 African countries use AI-enabled surveillance technologies, such as algorithmic analysis and CCTV camera-assisted facial recognition to monitor and respond to crime. It asserted that during a 2019 assault by the insurgent group Al-Shabaab on an upscale hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, these technologies helped authorities respond quickly and decisively. In 2016, Rwanda became the world’s first country to offer commercial drone delivery, partnering with the U.S.-based Zipline to deliver life-saving medical supplies to remote rural areas. Ghana followed suit in April 2019. Similarly, in 2016, Nigeria became the first African country to publicly confirm the use of a drone in combat against a terrorist group.

* In addition, the rapid spread of the internet across the African continent has been observed as a key driver of success and a sign of the continent’s technological coming of age. According to the Brookings Institution, at least a quarter of Africa’s population has internet access, a nearly fifty-fold increase in internet usage since the turn of the millennium. By 2030, the continent could achieve rough parity with the rest of the world when three-quarters of Africans are projected to become internet users. The Brookings Institution asserts that the economic potential is enormous: As mobile technologies alone have generated over 1.7 million jobs and contributed more than $144 billion, roughly 8.5% of GDP to the continent’s economy.

* Yet with each advance there is a cost. Sophisticated malware enables novel forms of criminality, surveillance technology powers new tactics of repression, and drones unleash the prospect of the autonomous weapons arms race.

* Indeed Without affordable, reliable and stable internet connectivity, broadband internet access will remain out of reach for many low-income Africans, especially those living in rural areas. More so, digitization brings with it weaknesses that expose countries to cyber espionage, critical infrastructure sabotage and crime.

* In summary, the ultimate impact of emerging technologies will depend largely on how African countries choose to use them. Due to their relatively low costs and rapid proliferation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones offer many African countries the opportunity to reap economic, political, and security benefits. However, the impact of emerging technology could be destabilizing if used to enhance corporate profits and regime security without regard to the lives and livelihoods of ordinary citizens. Indeed, increasing internet connectivity should be prioritized, but so should affordability, cybersecurity, and equitable access.

B) THE IMPACTS OF CYBERCRIME ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF STATES?

* Cybercrime or the unlawful or unacceptable acts committed by using electronic devices, including computers as either a target or a tool, pose a danger to national security, including those not associated with hostile governments or terrorist groups.

* In a tech-savvy world, the internet has so far created a breeding ground for contemporary crimes such as hacking, cyber terrorism, child pornography, spam, intellectual property piracy, denial of service and stalking among others. In essence, these crimes were practised in the real world, but with the emergence of the internet, they escalated and became a concern for countries to deliberately embark on cyber security measures to protect their citizen’s privacy and classified information stored in their intelligence systems.

* Cybercrime poses a threat to national security for a number of reasons:

• Because banking and financial systems are increasingly digitized and connected to the internet, many cybersecurity experts fear that hackers could cause widespread economic instability, potentially causing a recession or depression.

• There are also fears that illicitly acquired information could be publicized. In other words, hackers could breach government agencies as well as the privacy of citizens.

• Still another fear regarding cyberterrorism is that by hacking into power or utility infrastructures, terrorists could cause chaos throughout major metropolitan areas.

• Cybercrime destroys the reputation of countries. It makes the business environment difficult as it discourages potential foreign investors from doing business in a country with a bad reputation and hampers the growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

* Cyberthreats are alarming because they can be deployed remotely, anonymously and cheaply. Nowadays automated attack tools are freely available on the Internet. As soon as the vulnerability of a particular operating system or application becomes public knowledge, the release on the Internet of tools exploiting that vulnerability takes place within a few hours. These weapons, therefore, are available to everybody.

Remedies

* Governments may take multiple precautions against cyberterrorist activity, including a legislative framework against cybercrime. Additionally, governments may provide guidance to businesses and state institutions, equipping them with best practices for enforcing strong encryption and cybersecurity measures.

* It is also recommended that countries create cyber defence bodies within their national security establishments and increase their cyber competencies, including through the establishment of dedicated cyber warfare divisions within their security forces. The cyber arena is multidimensional and persistently evolving. The fight against cybercrime, therefore, requires coordinated multi-stakeholders efforts to raise awareness of curbing cybercrimes. Governments should set up procedures to report fraudulent activity. From the cyber security perspective, the fight against cybercrimes requires a holistic approach not only just law enforcement, but also in terms of social-technical and socio-legal measures to strengthen its security capability.