The Minister of Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana, has said governments should invest more in cyber security infrastructure to overcome the threat of crimes committed through the use of technology.

Minister Nsengimana made the remarks while opening the second ‘Africa Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime for Heads of Units’ yesterday at Rwanda National Police headquarters in Kacyiru.

"We all live in a rapidly evolving and hyper connected world where we increasingly work and operate from within the cyberspace. However, governments and businesses alike continue to underestimate cyber security risks; consequently, making inadequate investments to build cyber security infrastructure,” he said.

The two-day training that attracted 40 cyber-crime investigators from 15 African countries was also graced by Inspector General of Police Emmanuel K. Gasana and the Director of Interpol Digital Crime Centre in Singapore, Sanjay Virmani.

Minister Nsengimana said Internet is creating unprecedented opportunities for economic growth, civic engagement and social development, but added that there is need to regulate it and ensure that criminals do not exploit it to undermine the security of nations.

"As the threat is global, so must be our response. It is my expectation that this working group will be able to contribute to strengthening the existing framework for achieving international cooperation in Africa and beyond in order to tackle cyber crime more effectively,” he said.

Cybercrime experts from Singapore are also attending the training as observers, while international companies involved in developing cyber security tools were also represented.

Among them include Facebook, antivirus manufacturers Symantec, Europol and Trend Micro.

The government this year approved a new cyber security policy whose overall goal is to ensure that the country’s cyberspace is secure and resilient at all times.

Virmani said the Internet brings new forms of dependency and new security risks, with the annual cost of cybercrime to the global economy estimated to be more than $400 billion.

"Threats in the cyberspace have become global. If a criminal in one corner of the world has access to the Internet, he can do a lot of damage all over the world despite his geographical location.

Police Spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa said RNP has emerged as an important element of Rwanda’s cyber security architecture, which has come a long way to implement efforts and significant initiatives in combating cybercrime.

"As we work to extend the benefits of the digital revolution to all people, it is our shared responsibility to shape the Internet that we want and create a space that is open, safe and productive,” he said.

Interpol statistics indicate that in 1990, just three million people had access to the Internet, but that figure has multiplied to more than three billion presently.

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