be done, this advocacy has forced corporate gatherers of personal information to be mindful of protecting data from misuse or theft, leaving users more protected. Without such a strong notion of privacy rights in Africa, this advocacy is disturbingly absent in the nascent field of African information security. For instance, in 2004 the South African Post Office decided to sell the personal information of citizens in its database. Without any legal mechanism to protect personal information, individuals had no means of protecting their own privacy. 6 Few protections of personal information mean that sensitive data can all too easily fall into the wrong hands.

Finally, too many African governments demonstrate a willingness to operate outside the rule of law and with little accountability. In such an environment, mobile phones become an unprecedented tool to track a citizen’s activities. An unscrupulous government could easily use the cellular network to track an individual’s movement, listen to conversations, and access financial records. While such behavior is not absent in Europe and North America, it is generally limited due to robust legal systems and privacy watchdogs. Where such systems are absent, as in many African states, government snooping can have a chilling effect on a population and negate the many gains provided by mobile service.

Because the potential gains are so great for Africa, it is vital that malevolent forces do not spoil this moment of opportunity. Further, we must not forget that in such an interconnected world, a problem for Africa is very much a problem for everyone else. Once a continent with very limited broadband connectivity, undersea fiber cables now span the length of each of Africa’s coasts and the development of several new cables is under way. While desperately needed, this additional bandwidth can serve as a conduit to import and export mobile viruses and other forms of malware from and to the rest of the world. It is, therefore, imperative that this potential information security nightmare be addressed. Like so many security problems in the cyber world, however, the solutions are not evidently at hand.

The compelling rise
of mobile telephony
across africa is
not a passing
phenomenon.

Of particular concern is the current lack of information security professionals in Africa. What is a significant problem in developing countries is compounded in Africa where few countries have the resources to educate and train the work force needed to protect the cellular networks. Along the same lines, governmental capacity to develop the necessary institutions is largely missing. Western assistance, when offered, is rarely given in a sustainable manner that would allow for true security work to persist. Finally, political sensitivities tend to limit the amount of assistance home nations are willing to accept relating to security issues. All of this leaves Africa with an absence of internal capacity coupled with weak outside assistance. It is therefore difficult to imagine positive scenarios in which the onslaught can be avoided.

 

Conclusion

In considering possible solutions,
it is clear that device manufacturers
and service providers must contrib-
ute. Too often private interests place
security low on the list of priorities,
especially when not encouraged by
government entities. Yet for African
networks to be safe, it will be essen-
tial for manufacturers and providers
to offer adequate security. Steps such
as encrypting all sensitive data passed
through the network and ensuring the
privacy of personal information of-
fer adequate user protection. African
governments must also find ways to
train information security profession-
als. While increasing this work force
will certainly carry a high cost to gov-
ernments that often have little money
to spend, the costs otherwise will be
far greater, although distributed more
broadly among the population.

References

1. a horrendous trade. The Economist. (jan. 17, 2009), p.

50.

2. gady, F. africa’s cyber Wmd. Foreign Policy (mar. 24, 2010).

3. georgia tech information Security Center. Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2009. (oct. 15, 2008); http:// www.gtisc.gatech.edu/pdf/Cyberthreatsreport2009. pdf.

4. itU. Information Society Statistical Profiles 2009: Africa; http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/ind/d- ind-rpm.aF-2009-pdF-e.pdf.

5. itU. Key Global Telecom Indicators for the World Telecommunication Service Sector; http://www.itu.int/ itU-d/ict/statistics/at_glance/ Keytelecom.html.

6. olinger, h., britz, j., and olivier, m. Western privacy and/or Ubuntu? Some critical comments on the influences in the forthcoming data privacy bill in South africa. The International Information & Library Review 39 (2007), 31–43.

7. the mother of invention. The Economist (Sept. 24, 2009), 8–12.

 

Seymour (Sy) Goodman ( [e-mail])
is professor of international affairs and Computing at
georgia tech in atlanta, ga.
Andrew harris ( [e-mail]) is a researcher at
georgia tech’s Sam nunn School of international affairs
in atlanta, ga.