Africa's digital space has moved from the late 1990s, when access to the internet was a rare luxury, to today's explosion of connectivity.
As of 2022, there are approximately 570 million internet users on the African continent, more than double the number in 2015, according to data from Ookla.
However, this progress has brought significant challenges, particularly the rise in cyber threats affecting individuals, governments and industries across the continent.
Cybercrime has had a detrimental effect on the cybersecurity sector, forcing financial institutions to respond quickly. As more people in Africa come online and economies and societies become more reliant on technology, criminals' cyber attack surface is expanding. This makes cybercrime one of the fastest emerging threats across Africa.
According to Interpol's first Africa Regional Cyber Threat Assessment Report published in 2021, the economic impact of cybercrime in the region is estimated at more than $4 billion, accounting for approximately 10% of Africa's gross domestic product.
African countries and businesses are taking steps to build a safer digital economy and protect their online communities, but gaps remain to be filled.
According to Kaspersky ICS CERT¹, industrial control system (ICS) computers in Africa were attacked in Q3 2023, with 32% of systems being attacked, with country-specific figures being 22% in South Africa, 28% in Kenya, and 25% in Nigeria. ICS are critical computer systems that monitor industrial processes such as manufacturing and energy production.
“Addressing issues such as low digital literacy, inadequate cyber preparedness and a general lack of cyber hygiene habits is becoming more and more urgent,” Prince Efuelite, managing director of Efuelite Solutions (Compliance Planet), said in a recent interview.
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Through Compliance Planet, Efue leverages Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML) to fight financial crimes and ensure regulatory compliance in the financial sector.
“A sustainable solution to cybersecurity challenges in Nigeria and Africa requires a comprehensive approach that includes education, improved regulation, technology investments and increased collaboration,” he told BD on Sunday. “We believe that leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML and NLP can help address the challenges of cybercrime and other related obstacles in the financial sector.”
“Resolving these challenges requires a concerted effort that includes investment in resources, enhanced training and awareness programs, stronger regulatory frameworks, and improved domestic and international cooperation,” he added.
Moreover, industry experts also support this approach, noting that AI can serve as a vital tool in curbing and managing fraudulent activities by identifying fraud and security threats, detecting anomalous behavior, and analyzing communication patterns.
Amit Mehta, vice president and cybersecurity consulting practice leader at Mastercard, highlighted the importance of AI in boosting consumer trust, especially in digital banking.
“AI is one innovation that digital banking cannot afford to miss out on, given its potential to disrupt the financial services ecosystem,” Mehta said. “AI can address key issues in digital banking, such as automating customer interactions, but evaluation must be done before adoption.”
Similarly, Efueh said, “The integration of artificial intelligence enables vast amounts of financial data to be rapidly analyzed with unprecedented precision and efficiency. With robust pattern recognition and anomaly detection, the software quickly identifies potential cases of money laundering and financial fraud, enabling compliance officers to take proactive measures to curb illicit activities.”
He added, “The introduction of natural language processing has enabled Compliance Planet to identify and extract meaningful insights from unstructured text data, such as regulatory documents, trade records and communications logs. This has proven vital in identifying hidden indicators of financial crime, facilitating thorough investigations of suspicious activity and unraveling complex money laundering schemes.”
