Rwanda National Police

The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana has said that governments should invest more in cyber security infrastructure in order to overcome the threat of crimes committed through the use of technology.

Minister Nsengimana made the remarks while opening the second ‘Africa Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime for Heads of Units,’ held on October 28 at the at Rwanda National Police (RNP) Headquarters in Kacyiru.

“We all live in a rapidly evolving and hyper connected world where we increasingly work and operate from within the cyberspace. However, governments and businesses alike continue to underestimate cyber security risks; consequently, making inadequate investments to build cyber security infrastructure,” said the Minister.

The two-day training that attracted 40 cyber-crime investigators from 16 African countries was also graced by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Emmanuel K. Gasana and the Director of Interpol Digital Crime Centre in Singapore, Sanjay Virmani.

Minister Nsengimana noted that Internet is creating unprecedented opportunities for economic growth, civic engagement and social development, but added that there is need to regulate it and ensure that criminals do not exploit it to undermine the security of nations.

“As the threat is global, so must be our response. It is my expectation therefore; that this working group will be able to contribute to strengthening the existing framework for achieving international cooperation in Africa and beyond in order to tackle cybercrime more effectively,” he said

Cybercrime experts from Singapore are also attending the training as observers, while international companies involved in developing cyber security tools were also represented. Among them included popular social media site Facebook, antivirus manufacturers Symantec, as well as Europol, Trend Micro, among others.

 The minister pointed out that the Government of Rwanda earlier this year approved a renewed cyber security policy whose overall goal is to ensure that the country’s cyberspace is secure and resilient at all times.

 “The national policy recognizes the need for more planning and coordination among different cyber security initiatives, protection of our national critical information infrastructure, strengthening the legal and regulatory framework that align regional and international bets practices, development of the skilled workforce in the area of cyber security, promotion of research and development, building public awareness and promotion of national, regional and international cooperation,” the Minister said.

 The Director of Interpol Digital Crime Centre, Sanjay Virmani, further said that the internet brings new forms of dependency and new security risks, with the annual cost of cybercrime to the global economy estimated to be more than 400 billion dollars.

 “Threats in the cyberspace have become global. If a criminal in one corner of the world has access to the Internet, he can do a lot of damage all over the world despite his geographical location.

 “Therefore, in order to combat this scourge, there is a greater need for international law enforcement and cooperation to counter these complex transnational, multi-dimensional and fast-evolving threats,” said Virmani.

 The Police Spokesperson, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Celestin Twahirwa noted that RNP has emerged as an important player  in the  implementation of Rwanda’s cyber security architecture, which has come a long way with efforts and significant initiatives in combating cybercrime.

 “On top of being part of regional and international platforms to fight cybercrimes and cooperating with Interpol, RNP has an ongoing  project establish the cybercrime investigation centre, which will house the digital forensics laboratory and a cybercrime training centre,” CSP Twahirwa said.

 “As we work to extend the benefits of the digital revolution to all people, it is our shared responsibility to shape the internet that we want and create a space that is open, safe and productive,” he added.

 Interpol statistics indicate that in 1990, just three million people had access to the internet, whereas today there more than 3 billion.

 This transformation indicates the need for countries – particularly African countries – to be equipped in a similar fashion and have strong cybercrime units that cooperate and share information that enables them to track and investigate cybercrimes efficiently.

 Major issues concerning cybercrime will be dissected during the 84th Interpol Annual General Assembly, which will be held in Kigali between 2nd and 5th November, 2015, under the theme: “Interpol 2020: Policing Global Threats in a Dynamic Environment”.