Rwanda Says Africa Must Prioritize Fighting Cybercrime

Rwanda's president backed a $1.5-million cybercrime project with Interpol on Wednesday, telling African police forces to work together on the growing threat.



President Paul Kagame addressed a gathering of close to 100 African police heads during a cybersecurity exercise organized by Interpol and hosted in the Rwandan capital, Kigali.



"The dangers of cybercrime are real but we cannot afford to allow the pace of development and progress to be slowed down as a result," he said.



"Africa is getting connected to broadband at one of the fastest rates in the world. This work is part of an even bigger picture. Technology innovation is a key driver of economic growth.



"Therefore close collaboration is needed to investigate these complex cybercrimes and to secure the extradition and conviction of suspects."



Interpol is collaborating with Rwanda in the construction of a $1.5-million regional cybersecurity center in Kigali which will coordinate investigations into cybercrimes, as well as criminals who use technology to conduct terrorism, trafficking and money laundering.



Interpol's Secretary General Jurgen Stock commended Rwanda for its desire to set up the cybersecurity center and called on police forces in Africa to start considering the scourge as a threat which facilitates other crimes.



In February, Rwanda suffered an internet security breach by the hacker collective called Anonymous which hit a private company that provides the government with video-conferencing technology.



Anonymous also hacked websites in Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia.



Leading software company Kaspersky Lab recently warned that government and commercial online services in Africa could become the next frontier for cybercrime, particularly because many African countries do not have the resources to set up modern cybersecurity units. -