African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Photo: UNAMID
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) conducted a successful online debate on the draft African Union Convention on the Confidence and Security in Cyberspace.18 This was carried out on the multiple lists of KICTANet and ISOC-KE in Kenya and on the I-Network list moderated by fellow APC member CIPESA and ISOC-Uganda, on 25-29 November 2013. The concerns raised were also shared with the mailing lists of Best Bits, the Internet Governance Caucus, Web We Want and Access Now, to get as much input as possible.
The African Union (AU) cyber security convention seeks to intensify the fight against cyber crime across Africa in light of the increase in these types of crime and the lack of mastery of security risks by African countries. Another major challenge for African countries is the lack of adequate technological security to prevent and effectively control technological and informational risks.
The draft report of the online debate formed part of the discussion on the convention during the African ICT Week hosted by the AU on 1-6 December 2013.19