The Namibian government is in the process of finalising its cybercrime related legislation which includes the draft Cybercrime Bill and the draft Data Protection Bill, Leonie Dunn, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Namibia has said.
Dunn who was speaking at the launch of the Cyber Security Industry Council last week highlighted that while this will play a fundamental role in the broader sense of the country’s cyber resilience, it also highlights the need for a financial industry cyber risk strategy.
“To date, there is no official national cybersecurity strategy in Namibia. We are however aware that the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) with the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat, devised some of the components of the cybersecurity strategy. It is therefore an opportune time for us, to come together as an industry to gain a deeper understanding of our cyber risk landscape in coming up with a strategy that optimally addresses the risks we are faced with,” Dunn said.
The country’s first-ever financial industry Cybersecurity Council was officially launched yesterday by the Bank of Namibia and the financial industry. The Council’s purpose is to provide a productive forum for the banking and non-banking financial sector to foster conversations and develop tactical strategies to combat cyberfraud within the industry.
The Council’s objectives include examining problems such as data leaks, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) security & phishing and help ensure that issues around cybersecurity within the financial industry receive the necessary priority from all players. It will further improve the maturity levels of cybersecurity within the institutions, and the financial sector as a whole by enabling leaders in information security to share knowledge within and across firms. The Council is also entrusted with ensuring efficiency in cyber-risk management as institutions can leverage from one another. The Council will convene meetings of experts for a structured dialogue on cutting-edge issues and devise appropriate strategies to mitigate sector-wide threats and vulnerabilities.
”Cyberspace, like the internet, is an integral aspect of our lives in always, from the sources and flow of information to how money moves inside our financial system. As connectivity has risen, there is a larger risk of information leaks, security breaches, hacks, and other cyber security threats,” Dunn said.
The Deputy Governor emphasised that cooperation, collaboration, and coordination will increase cybersecurity stretches and secure the security of individual institutions, despite the fact that the evolving nature of cybersecurity may be perceived as a danger by some.
“In the past few years, we have witnessed the unparalleled rise in crypto assets and there have been global discussions around the regulation of stable coins, among other technologies. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, propelled the adoption of the fourth industrial revolution, as observed in the increased usage of digital payments that have become even more prevalent in the Namibian financial industry.
“Moreover, some big tech companies have entered the financial markets, either directly or in partnership with financial institutions across the globe. This, in turn, presents new and complex tradeoffs between financial stability, competition and data protection,” Dunn explained further stating that in addition to this, the world is becoming more and more interconnected.
“There are fast growing chains of interdependence between countries, cities, businesses and even individuals. From the sources and flow of information, to how finances flow within our financial system, the cyberspace is an intrinsic part of our lives just as the internet is.”
In outlining the origins of the cybersecurity framework, Romeo Nel, Director of Banking Supervision, said that the Bank created rules in 2018 called the Determination of Information Security to address the absence of adequate and fit-for-the-future cybersecurity in the banking sector. A Circular to complement the Determination on Information Security was also rolled out. These efforts, however, were only directed at the banking industry, and the Bank of Namibia quickly realized that in order to effectively tackle cybercrime, the entire financial sector needed to adopt a collaborative and consultative methodology,” he said.
In light of the aforementioned, Nel went on to say that the information-sharing platform will indeed enhance the financial sector’s cyber maturity, which should ideally result in a future-focused plan for the industry to tackle cybercrime. A working group of cybersecurity specialists will support the Council as it sets its agenda or strategy.
The Council comprises of Heads of Institutions and Deputy Governors whilst the Working Groups consists of cyber and information security specialists from financial sector regulatory bodies, critical financial market infrastructure (FMI), financial sector associations, commercial banks and non-banking financial entities.