Israel-based cyber security company CyGOV wants to partner with Zambia's government to establish a cyber-security institute in the country to help combat threats.

CyGOV chief strategy officer Eli Ben-Meir said that if left unchecked, cybercrime has the potential to reverse economic growth in Zambia and in many other countries.

The recent global ransomware attack 'WannaCry' was described by cyber security experts as the biggest ever of its kind to date and affected networks and systems across 150 countries.

While there has been no indication as yet that Zambia was affected, the attack has triggered warnings for African organisations and government institutions to be watchful and update their systems.

Zambia's minister of Communications and Transport Brian Mushimba described the arrival of CyGOV as "timely" because the government is also in the process of enacting cybercrime laws to effectively deal with a clear increase in cybercrime – particularly aimed at the country's finance sector.

According to a recent report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), cybercrime in Zambia has increased by 23% in the last two years.

The report stated that financial loss attributed to cybercrime was at 58%, while reputational damage was measured at 57%.

"I'm confident that our collaboration with the company (CyGOV) would enhance monitoring mechanisms on both cybercrime and cyber security," Mushimba said.