Rwanda woos Korean IT security agency

The Korea Internet and Security Agency (KISA) is set to extend its expertise to Rwanda in information protection technology, according to Jean Philbert Nsengimana, the Minister of Youth and ICT.This is one of the outcomes of a bilateral meeting held last week between him and the president of KISA, Suh Jong-ryeol in South Korea.During the meeting, they discussed about strengthening cooperation in the protection of information at this critical time when ICT is being championed as the major driver of the country’s economy.“The process is underway, we are collaborating with KISA to transfer information protection technology to Rwanda,” Minister Nsengimana said.Internet security threats, he said, keep evolving by the minute, calling for the need to ensure that this information is secure from every threat.“We need to constantly evaluate how our protection systems perform and the Koreans have established some of the best practices in this area worldwide,” he said.KISA is a state-owned agency.Internet security threats if not addressed properly lead to service vulnerability, government vital information leak, weaken consumer confidence, and ultimately cause brand damage and serious revenue decline.The threats may include among others internet fraud, ATM scams, theft of intellectual property and government data, malware targeting mobile devices and a resurgence of the Zeus Trojan, which targets financial information.At the meeting, Nsengimana, requested Suh for a close cooperation in constructing ‘Cyber Security Centre’ in Rwanda.“Many countries are interested in our advanced information protection system. KISA will help the countries in terms of economic development by transferring Korean information protection model and lead to good ties at national level too,” Suh is quoted as saying. A survey, conducted by Deloitte last year, indicated that banks in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia lost $245 million in cyber fraud.Police statistics indicate that last year, about six cases of cyber related crimes were registered.KISA is a government agency established in 2009 to focus on the national Korean information security, national internet development and international cooperation in the area of ICT and broadcasting.President Paul Kagame, late last year, while on a working visit to South Korea, toured KISA where he was given a presentation on the agency’s wide range of products.

National

Rwanda woos Korean IT security agency