Africa Urged to Strengthen Cybersecurity Cooperation and Shape Global Digital Rules

Story by Violet Kerubo

African countrVies have been urged to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation, invest in local technological innovation and coordinate their diplomatic positions to address growing cyber threats and influence international digital governance.
The call comes amid increasing concerns over cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure, the growing use of artificial intelligence in cybercrime and the need for African countries to protect their digital economies while safeguarding national sovereignty.
In a speech addressing African cybersecurity priorities, the speakers emphasized that cybersecurity must be treated as a national security, economic development and diplomatic priority rather than merely an information technology concern.
They called for stronger institutional capacity, coordinated incident response mechanisms, responsible artificial intelligence adoption and closer collaboration among national cybersecurity authorities, foreign ministries, law enforcement agencies and legal experts.
Africa, the speaker said, must move beyond participating in international cybersecurity discussions and take a more influential role in shaping the rules, standards and decisions governing cyberspace.
Cyber resilience must be built before attacks occur
The speakers warned that African governments and organizations must prepare for cyber incidents by investing in secure digital infrastructure, reliable monitoring systems and effective recovery mechanisms.
The proposed measures include stronger identity protection, network segmentation, continuous monitoring, supply chain security, protected backups and regularly tested disaster recovery plans.
Rather than promising that cyberattacks will never happen, organizations should develop the capacity to detect incidents quickly, contain their impact and restore trusted operations.
They emphasized that resilience must be designed before a crisis rather than improvised after an attack has already disrupted services.
The approach is particularly important for organizations responsible for essential services, where prolonged disruptions could affect public safety, economic activity and national stability.
Critical infrastructure operators were urged to strengthen their security arrangements and establish clear procedures for responding to cyber incidents.
These efforts should cover energy distribution, fuel logistics, pipelines, telecommunications, healthcare and industrial control systems, whose disruption could have consequences extending beyond individual organizations.
Artificial intelligence presents new cybersecurity opportunities and risks
The speech identified artificial intelligence as a technology that is transforming both the scale and nature of cybersecurity threats.
When used responsibly, AI can help security teams analyze large volumes of security events, identify unusual activities, prioritize alerts, accelerate investigations and improve threat detection.
The technology could be particularly valuable to African countries facing shortages of specialized cybersecurity personnel, allowing limited teams to improve their ability to monitor and respond to threats.
However, the speakers cautioned that the same technology can also be exploited by malicious actors.
Potential threats include convincing phishing campaigns, automated reconnaissance, the generation of malicious code, voice cloning, executive impersonation and fabricated audio-visual evidence.
The speakers warned that familiar voices and apparently authentic videos may no longer be sufficient to establish someone’s identity.
This development creates additional risks for governments, businesses, financial institutions and members of the public, particularly where criminals use impersonation to obtain confidential information or manipulate decision-making.
They also called for a balanced approach that enables organizations to use AI to strengthen cybersecurity while ensuring that AI systems themselves remain secure, accountable and responsibly governed.
Governments were urged to establish clear safeguards for AI use in sensitive environments, including the protection of confidential information, secure deployment, prevention of data leakage and manipulation, and appropriate human oversight of consequential decisions.
The speakers stressed that artificial intelligence should strengthen professional judgment rather than replace accountability.
Africa urged to invest in homegrown technology
The speech also called on African countries to avoid becoming merely consumers of technologies developed elsewhere.
Instead, governments were encouraged to invest in African research, specialist skills, local innovation, cybersecurity data ecosystems and technological solutions that reflect the continent’s languages, cultures, institutions and operational realities.
They also argued that developing local expertise would help African countries respond more effectively to emerging threats while reducing excessive dependence on external technologies and expertise.
Building indigenous technological capacity would also strengthen Africa’s ability to participate meaningfully in international discussions on cybersecurity, digital sovereignty and artificial intelligence governance.
They maintained that Africa’s ambition should extend beyond adopting technology to developing, governing and securing it independently.
Africa urged to move from participation to influence in cyber diplomacy
Reflecting on the African Cybersecurity Forum held in Rabat, Morocco, during Morocco Cybersecurity Week 2026, the speaker highlighted the importance of coordinated African engagement in international cybersecurity negotiations.
The forum was organized by Morocco’s General Directorate for Information System Security in collaboration with Smart Africa, which supports continental digital transformation and cooperation among African cybersecurity authorities.
The speakers said one of the central lessons from the engagement was the need for African countries to move beyond simply attending international meetings and instead arrive with coordinated positions, credible technical expertise, sound legal perspectives and a clear understanding of their collective strategic interests.
The speech called for closer collaboration among national cybersecurity authorities, foreign ministries, law enforcement agencies, legal experts, research institutions and diplomatic representatives.
Such cooperation, the speaker said, would help ensure that Africa’s practical cybersecurity experiences inform its diplomatic positions and that international commitments produce tangible benefits for citizens, economies and critical infrastructure.
They emphasized that cybersecurity is now inseparable from diplomacy, international law, economic development and national security.
Consequently, technical experts must understand the international rules being negotiated, while diplomats and legal advisers must appreciate the practical implications of cybersecurity decisions.
African and international frameworks provide a foundation
The speech identified several continental and international frameworks that could support Africa’s cybersecurity agenda.
Among them is the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, commonly known as the Malabo Convention, which entered into force in June 2023.
The convention provides a continental framework covering cybersecurity, electronic transactions and personal data protection.
However, the speaker noted that its effectiveness would depend on implementation at the national level, appropriate legal safeguards, institutional capacity and enforcement.
The African Union’s Common African Position on the Application of International Law to the Use of Information and Communications Technologies in Cyberspace was also identified as an important foundation for coordinated engagement on international law, responsible state behaviour and the peaceful management of cyber-related risks.
The speech further highlighted the United Nations Global Mechanism on Information and Communications Technologies security as an opportunity for African countries to contribute to discussions on responsible state behaviour, international law, confidence-building measures and capacity development.
The United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, adopted in December 2024, was identified as another important instrument addressing international cooperation against cybercrime, electronic evidence and capacity development.
The speakers urged African states to carefully consider the convention’s implications for national legislation, privacy, due process and cross-border investigative cooperation.
Although the frameworks serve different purposes, the speaker said they demonstrate the need to combine operational cybersecurity capabilities with informed diplomatic engagement.
African governments were encouraged to strengthen their understanding of these instruments and coordinate their implementation and participation in international negotiations.
Four priorities proposed for African cybersecurity authorities
The speakers identified the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities (ANSA) as an important platform for strengthening cooperation among national cybersecurity authorities.
To translate existing cooperation into practical outcomes, the speech proposed four priority areas.
1. Policy coordination and cooperation
African countries should strengthen implementation of continental cybersecurity frameworks and develop effective, compatible national approaches to cybersecurity and personal data protection.
This would help improve coordination while respecting differences in national laws, institutions and priorities.
2. Operational cooperation
The speaker called for stronger information sharing among national Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) and Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs).
Improved incident escalation, timely warnings and coordinated responses would help countries manage cyber threats that cross national borders.
Under this approach, when a serious cyber incident affects one African country, relevant counterparts should be able to exchange trusted information, assess cross-border implications and coordinate appropriate assistance.
3. Shared capacity development
African countries were urged to expand specialist cybersecurity training, digital forensics, leadership development, cyber ranges, joint exercises and professional exchanges.
These initiatives would help address skills shortages and improve the ability of national institutions to investigate cyber incidents, protect systems and respond to sophisticated attacks.
4. Coordinated cyber diplomacy
The speech called for stronger collaboration between cybersecurity authorities, foreign ministries, legal experts and African Union institutions.
This cooperation would help African countries develop evidence-based positions on international cyber governance and strengthen their negotiating capacity.
The speaker stressed that the value of continental cooperation should be measured by the capabilities developed and the results achieved, rather than the number of meetings held.
International cybersecurity standards recommended
The speech also called on African governments and organizations to adopt internationally recognized cybersecurity and risk-management standards according to their responsibilities and risk profiles.
The frameworks highlighted included ISO/IEC 27001 for information security management, ISO 22301 for business continuity management, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 for cybersecurity risk management, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework for artificial intelligence-related risks, and the IEC 62443 series for industrial automation and control systems.
These frameworks can help organizations clarify responsibilities, identify risks, improve security controls and strengthen operational resilience.
However, the speakers cautioned against treating standards and certification as sufficient evidence of security.
Organizations must demonstrate that they can identify critical assets, detect threats, respond effectively, recover disrupted operations and continuously improve their security arrangements.
The speech further emphasized that cybersecurity requires sustained investment in people, processes, technology, maintenance, independent assessments and regular testing.
Governments and organizations were urged to look beyond the initial purchase of security products and provide adequate resources for long-term protection and operational readiness.
Three-stage roadmap proposed to strengthen cybersecurity
To translate the continent’s cybersecurity ambitions into measurable results, the speaker proposed a three-stage roadmap.
The first stage would focus on strengthening national foundations within the first 12 months.
During this period, countries should assess their cybersecurity maturity, identify critical infrastructure, clarify institutional responsibilities and review national incident-response arrangements.
Priority actions would include strengthening identity security, vulnerability management, protected backups, continuous monitoring and tested recovery plans.
Governments should also identify cyber diplomacy focal points and assess gaps in artificial intelligence governance and the implementation of relevant AI risk-management frameworks.
The speech outlined the initial 12-month phase but did not specify the detailed timelines and milestones for the remaining two stages.
Cybersecurity linked to economic stability and national security
The speaker emphasized that protecting digital infrastructure is essential to maintaining national continuity, public safety and economic stability.
As African economies become increasingly dependent on digital services, the consequences of cyber incidents could extend across government institutions, businesses and essential service providers.
A major disruption affecting telecommunications, energy distribution, fuel supply or healthcare could interfere with service delivery and undermine public confidence.
The speaker therefore called for cybersecurity to be integrated into national development planning, institutional governance and infrastructure investment.
Effective protection would require governments to establish clear responsibilities, maintain reliable response mechanisms and ensure that institutions have the resources needed to manage emerging risks.
The speech also pointed to coordinated cross-border operations against cybercriminal networks, investigations involving digital evidence and efforts to protect people from exploitation as examples of the importance of cooperation.
Such initiatives, the speaker said, should be connected through effective national governance, operational preparedness, responsible AI adoption and coordinated international engagement.
Africa urged to build a secure and influential digital future
In concluding remarks, the speaker said Africa was at a critical intersection as digital transformation creates new economic opportunities while introducing increasingly complex cybersecurity challenges.
The continent already has important foundations, including the Malabo Convention, the African Union’s common position on international law in cyberspace, the African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities, the United Nations Global Mechanism on ICT security and international cooperation frameworks against cybercrime.
The challenge, the speaker argued, is to translate these foundations into effective institutions, practical capabilities and coordinated action.
African countries were urged to move from fragmented initiatives to continental cooperation, from policies on paper to measurable capabilities, and from technological dependence to greater homegrown innovation.
The speakers further called for a stronger African voice in international decisions that shape cyberspace, arguing that the continent’s influence would depend on the institutions it builds, the expertise it develops, the partnerships it sustains and the collective positions it advances.
The speech concluded with a call for African countries to work together towards a digital future that is secure, resilient, innovative and inclusive.
The speaker said Africa must not only respond to emerging cyber threats but also contribute meaningfully to shaping the international rules and standards that govern the digital world.