Zambia has taken steps to protect members of parliament who are increasingly becoming targets of impersonation on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp.
Jack J. Mwiimbu, minister of home affairs and internal security, and Felix Mutati, minister of technology and science, issued a joint ministerial statement yesterday on the safety of parliamentarians from online exploitation.
According to the statement, the growth of digital communication platforms provided great benefits in terms of connectivity, outreach, and engagement; nevertheless, it has also created an atmosphere ripe for cyber-criminals, especially in recent months.
It goes on to assert that the criminals have not spared legislators by creating fake social media accounts in their identities to deceive naive people through false job offers and empowerment schemes.
Resultantly, the statement said: “To address the growing threat of cybercrime, government has enacted and commenced the cyber-crimes act and the cyber security act, effective 12th May, 2025, following the issuance of the commencement order.
“This Act provides a dedicated legal framework to criminalize and prosecute cyber offenses such as identity theft, online impersonation, cyber bullying, unauthorised access to data, fraud and phishing schemes.”
Furthermore, Zambia has set up the cyber security and cyber-crimes implementation task force, led by the two ministries, which is now fully operational.
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