Kenyan firm Serianu Ltd revealed that five African countries have lost overall $895 million to cyber-crime.

In a report released on March 29 and entitled "Achieving Cyber Security Resilience: Enhancing Visibility and Increasing Awareness", the company puts Nigeria as one of the biggest losers in this regard with losses amounting to about $500 million. The other countries listed are Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda which lost respectively $50 million, $85 million, $175 million and $35 million.

Serianu’s report also indicates that the losses are divided into $537 million in indirect losses and $358 million in direct losses. The report’s authors are concerned about this and they highlighted that most institutions and organizations across Africa are not prepared to deal with IT-related threats. A situation which they believe “is due to insufficient allocation of budget or to the absence of certified professionals”.

Investments in ICT and digital technology in Africa should soar beyond $3 billion by 2020, against $1.24 billion in 2015.

Claude Biao