System integrator and security specialist NEC XON has partnered with La Colombe Groupe to launch Francophone Africa's first Cyber Defense Operations Centre (CDOC) in Senegal's capital city of Dakar.
Djiby Chimère Gueye, head of La Colombe Groupe, said the CDOC will meet the cybersecurity needs of public and private firms. "Our core business is intelligence...to provide the right information, systems and people to our customers so that they can perform all of their operations efficiently and safely while controlling their costs."
This is the first of three CDOCs announced by NEC XON for Africa, with another two planned for Mauritius and Nigeria.
NEC XON is the combination of XON, a systems integrator providing custom ICT and security services and solutions in Southern Africa since 1996 and NEC Africa, the African business of the global technology giant NEC Corporation.
According to NEC XON the new cyber security facilities support law enforcement agencies in their efforts to respond to cyberattacks, identify hackers and apprehend perpetrators.
This is accomplished through partnerships established with global crime fighting organisations, such as that established with Interpol in November 2017.
Vernon Fryer, head of NEC XON's CDOC said the three centres form part of NEC's global footprint of hybrid cyber security centres, complementing facilities in Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Brazil, Vienna, and the United States.
"Infrastructure and expertise of the kind we are now establishing has so far been limited because many of these countries face numerous challenges not limited to national physical and cyber security." Fryer said.
He noted that African countries are increasingly coming under heavy cyberattacks with Ethiopia identified as a key target, being particularly susceptible to hacking of government or official sites.
"Zimbabwe is driving a rigorous cyber strategy because they've been hit so hard. My system tells me that Nigeria has 1,571 attacks occurring right now. Nigeria, South Africa, and Central African Republic are currently three of the hottest cyberattack spots in Africa," Fryer added.
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