ADDIS ABABA (ENA) – Ethiopia has encountered some 2,800 cyber-attack attempts during the last Ethiopian fiscal year (2020/21), according to the Director General of Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Shumete Gizaw (PhD).
The Director General made the remark at a ceremony organized to launch the month long cyber security program under the title “Cyber Security Shared Responsibility, Let’s Know and Be Cautious”.
During the occasion, the Director General emphasized the need to take the appropriate and adequate preparedness and preventive measures in advance by acquiring the necessary knowledge and skill in order to repel the cyber-attacks.
Cyber-attack attempts have been increasing on Ethiopia particularly in connection with the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the six general elections and the law enforcement operation held in the northern part of the country, he indicated.
According to him, in the Ethiopian 2013 fiscal year (2020/21) alone some 2,800 cyber-attack attempts were made on several institutions in the country.
Minister of Education Prof. Birhanu Nega for his part urged all to take the appropriate precocious measures with a view to repelling such attacks in addition to making efforts to acquire the necessary knowledge about cyber security.
Otherwise, the cyber-attacks will pose grave threats to the national security of the country, he added.
He also stressed the need to strengthen human capacity and establish a strong procedural system as well as provide adequate awareness about the sector in order to control and foil the attacks successfully.
The objectives of Cyber Security Month are to carry out mobilization with a view to enhancing awareness among the cyber community including individuals and institutions and to help ensure the national interests of the country.
During the month, awareness creation activities will be carried out among individuals, governmental and private institutions focusing on ways to mitigate and control cyber-attacks on technologies being used by them.
Workshops, exhibitions and panel discussions are also part of the month long cyber security awareness creation program, it was indicated.
Studies show that by 2020 some 2.5 trillion USD was lost due to cyber-attacks worldwide and by 2021, it is projected to reach 6 trillion USD.
Cyber Security Month is being celebrated for the 2nd time in Ethiopia and the 18th time internationally, it was learned.
The Ethiopian Herald October 12/2021
