adminGOVERNMENT is now finalising the Draft Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Bill, as part of the process to enact legislation to combat computer and internet based offences, which cost individuals and firms nearly $2 billion in 2015, among other prejudices.
Banks and other financial institutions are among common victims to the growing incidence of cybercrimes in Zimbabwe, according to Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) said it has initiated the process to amend the Postal and Telecommunications Act to craft legislation that deters internet and or computer based crimes.
POTRAZ head, legal services, Ms Tsitsi Mbanje told a recent media engagement forum in Kadoma that use of the internet, computers and mobile phones for payments, transacting and other purposes has left Zimbabweans exposed to the risk of cybercrimes.
She said the cyber space is insecure because of the ubiquity and cross border nature of internet. This is affecting both businesses and individuals in Zimbabwe and beyond.
For instance, risks lie in internet based transactions such as crypto-currency trading, which are irreversible and can potentially be made infinitely anonymous.
The business is a tremendous target for hackers, where the risk is high and while huge values may be involved, there is potentially no recourse.
“Many Zimbabweans have received emails to the effect that they have won lotteries and they are then asked to make a small payment as admin costs. These are just some of the examples.
“Zimbabwean banks have (also) fallen victim mainly to phishing; that is theft of information through emails, credit card fraud, hacking and identity theft. Recently, one bank warned its clients of a fake email that looked so real,” Ms Mbanje said.
She pointed out that cyber criminals have become a serious cause for concern for Zimbabwe and the world in general over the past few decades, with reports in July 2017 by GSMA, CNN and CBN News chronicling one of the biggest cyber attacks ever to occur in the world, called WannaCry Ransom ware.
Given these developments, Ms Mbanje said the Government, through Parliament, is working on additional legislation designed to contain and minimize the commission and incidence of cybercrimes.
Ms Mbanje said apart from the Cybercrime and Cyber Security Bill, work is underway to come up with a Data Protection Bill and Electronic Transactions Bill; critically important pieces of legislation that will make it easier to track, monitor, prevent and punish offenders of cyber related crimes.
She said the Cybercrime and Cyber Security Bill, the Data Protection Bill and the Electronic Transactions Bill are all closely linked “to ensure that we have a secure cyber space in Zimbabwe.”
“An insecure cyberspace affects both individuals and business. From the telecommunications perspective, SIM card registration was conceptualised to ensure SIMs can be traced to identifiable individuals. The authority will continue to work with operators to ensure this exercise is not discarded.
“The authority is in the process of amending the current Act to create a more conducive environment not only for ICT development, but to ensure a secure cyber space. The promulgation of the Cybercrime and Cyber Security Bill is at an advanced stage to curb computer and cybercrimes,” she said.
Regardless, she said the next frontier for the advancement of the postal and telecommunications sector in Zimbabwe is broadband.
Ms Mbanje said access to broadband, adequate broadband and sustainable broadband will increase electronic commerce transactions, which will boost the postal services sector.
“In the years to come, postal and telecommunications contribution to GDP will experience significant increase as a result of broadband availability,” Ms Mbanje said.
Online Reporter