Cameroon will deploy Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) units in key sectors, including water and energy utilities, telecommunications, banking and government services, amid an escalation in cyber threats targeting the country.

Speaking at a seminar on national critical infrastructure risk assessment, the Director General of the National Agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ANTIC) Ebot Ebot Enaw said the CTI units comprise a working group and collaboration platforms within sectors earmarked for deployment.

Enaw explained that the units will facilitate information exchange on cyber threats in order to increase overall threat anticipation and response.

He noted that collaboration will help facilitate the integration of ANTIC’s IDS/Honeypot security dispositions into the systems of structures which already have them.

According to the ANTIC leader for several years now, Cameroon has been facing asymmetrical threats which have become increasingly more complex and disruptive, causing systems to shut down, disrupting operations and economic activities.

“With the advent of the internet and rapid technological advancements, most critical assets, notably infrastructure supporting banking services, government services, and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) Systems, are now connected to the internet. These high levels of connectivity expose critical asserts to risks as cybercriminals do exploit vulnerabilities inherent in them to commit malicious acts,” said Enaw.

The organisation said Cameroon’s internet penetration rate has jumped from 4.3%in 2021, to 36.5% in early 2022, which has heightened risk.

According to 2022 statistics, at least 10 out of 41 critical infrastructures surveyed are at high risk. The most common vulnerability relates to the absence of control mechanisms for removable devices and lack of well-tested incident management procedures.

Anatole Nseka, a cybersecurity specialist at Essoka Cybersecurity Division, said “A centralised system with adequate resources for threat intelligence is really a very big plus for Cameroonians as a whole and especially for companies whose assets are under attack every day.”