BYOD #13: Suggestions of a single cyberlaw to rule them all
This week’s round-up of digital security news and investigative journalism in Africa.
ANCIR’s weekly post offering interesting — or amusing — digital security news from around the world, and tips for newsrooms, journalists and sources on the latest security measures.
Mauritius suggests uniform cyber laws for Africa
Mauritius has positioned itself to be one of the few countries outside Europe to feature data protection laws that comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations. Speaking at the Cyber Defence Summit held in Nairobi, the Mauritius minister for technology, communication and innovation, Yogida Sawmynaden, proposed a single cyber-security law for Africa to counter cyber-attacks. According to IT Web, Mauritius has already secured approval from Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) to establish a regional centre to formulate cyber-security legislation and combat cyber-attacks.
South Africa’s presidency website hacked
South Africa’s presidency website was on Saturday hacked by a group by the name “Black Team”. Internet users who tried to access the website were met with a notice on screen written “Hacked by Black Team. Sahara is Moroccan. And Morocco is ur Lord!” Through his spokesperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed the hack and stated that investigations were underway. According to Independent Online, there have been previous similar attacks on government websites including the 2017 attack on the departments of education and home affairs which exposed data of tens of millions of South Africans.
Zambia’s opposition rejects new cyber laws
Zambia’s opposition party has asserted concerns over plans by the government to introduce new cybercrime laws. According to the East African, the United Party for National Development (UPND) through its lawmakers stated that the new laws are a way to clamp down on social media and stifle the freedom of expression. According to the members of parliament, social media is the only platform which citizens can use without fear of victimisation. The government has however stated that the new laws which are yet to be drafted would regulate social media use and fight cybercrime, pornography and hate speech.
BYOD (Bring Your Own Device/Data) refers to owning your data and digital property, and keeping it secure. This newsletter is brought to you with support from Project Shield and Code For Africa.
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The African Network of Centers for Investigative Reporting (ANCIR) is an association of the continent’s best investigative newsrooms, ranging from large traditional media to small specialist units.
ANCIR works to strengthen African investigative journalism by improving the techniques, expertise, the tools used in muckraking newsrooms. This includes providing member newsrooms with the world’s best encryption and semantic analysis technologies, to forensic research support (through the Investigative Dashboard), legal services, and seed grants for cross-border collaboration.
ANCIR is incubated by and receives technical support from Code for Africa.
