Address by the Deputy Minister of State Security Ms Ellen Molekane at the State Security Cybersecurity Conference, Pretoria
Minister of State Security Mr David Mahlobo
The Director General of SSA, Amb Sonto Kudjoe Distinguished speakers and contributors
Senior Managers across Public Service and State Owned Enterprises Ladies and gentlemen
Members of the media Good morning.
Introduction
Thank you Programme Director for the opportunity to share some thoughts and reflections here this morning on a very critical matter that is of importance to a wide range of stakeholders locally as well as globally. We meet at a time when the whole world is witnessing a number of security breaches involving people’s personal information including passwords and related data. The latest of these involves a UK national provider of telephony and broadband.
This is but one example of the challenges that the advent of cyberspace and technological advancement poses to the security of people’s personal data and related information. There are many more of similar stories being told.
This week’s conference is therefore critical in that it provides us with an opportunity to reflect on the work that is before us, firstly as the government of South Africa and secondly, as stakeholders in the security of our people.
Policy perspective
Programme Director, the NGO that I belong which is the governing party has always provided clear direction about the route we should take in ensuring the safety and security of all people in South Africa. In its 53rd National Conference, the ANC called on government to expedite the process of completing the country’s National Security Strategy. This all-encompassing strategy talks to the security vulnerabilities that
South Africa and indeed the world face in the 21st century and proposes how these must be managed. The National Development Plan realises the potential of the technological developments and the role it can play to solve some of the challenges our people face with regards to public services.
Cabinet approved, in 2012, a National Cybersecurity Policy Framework, which provided an overview of our country’s posture towards cybersecurity, identifying various roles for each of the departments that belong mostly to the crime, justice and security cluster, the JCPS.
The aim of this policy is to:
- Promote a cyber-security culture and demand compliance with minimum security standards;
- Strengthen intelligence collection, investigations, prosecution and judicial processes, in respect of preventing and addressing cybercrime, cyber warfare, cyber terrorism and other cyber ills;
- Establish public-private-societal partnerships for national and international action plans
- Ensure the protection of National Critical Information Infrastructure (NCII); promote and ensure a comprehensive legal framework governing cyberspace and
- Ensure adequate national capacity to develop and protect our cyberspace
The Cluster- as part of its mandate and obligations in terms of Outcome 3 which calls for all people to be and feel safe- has been hard at work ensuring that there is progress that is recorded against the very ambitious targets set by government departments.
The issue of cybersecurity was raised sharply in the Ministry’s Budget and Policy Statement this year, given our role as a coordinating department for government on this issue.
On Friday 30 October 2015, the Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services, launched the cybersecurity hub, an institutional mechanism that is crucial in the public-private sector response capability for with regards to matters of civic education, amongst other things. It is also derived from this very policy framework.
It was very pleasing to see a wide range of stakeholders from government, banking industry, ICT industry, academia and civil society who participated in the programme.
Objectives of this conference
Programme Director, this conference should assess progress that has been made with regards to the development of policy, in terms of various aspects of cybersecurity including but not limited to cybercrime, cyber-terrorism, cyber- espionage, cyber legislation, research and development.
This conference must also seriously address areas of collaboration and partnerships with the private sector and academia in areas such as training and capacity, civic education and awareness, research and development of systems and curbing cyber- crime. We must also reflect how we can protect and secure critical infrastructure in the wake of increasing security breaches worldwide.
We must underscore the element of research development given that the world is experiencing a challenge of skills and expertise to deal with this growing phenomenon.
As government, we see the following skills areas as critical in improving the quality of our work:
- Network monitoring
- Cyber forensics
- Software development (offensive and defensive)
- Cryptographic skills
- Cyber investigations and analysis
- ICT network design and development
Linked to the above, this conference must discuss measures that must be implemented in ensuring that civil society takes interest in the general awareness programs including protecting their devices from malware.
Conclusion
Programme Director, technological advances are moving at a fast speed and ours as a country is to be ahead of such. We have the responsibility to ensure that the positive spin-offs that accrue as result of the cyberspace are enjoyed by all our people. We must be in a position to prevent those with nefarious tendencies to threaten the safety of our people. Together as a collective of government, private sector and civil society, we have a national duty to work together and collaborate for the sake of the future of our country, the future that our leaders and comrades and friends fought and died for.
I wish you a successful deliberations and a successful, action oriented conference. We look forward to your resolutions and plan of action.
I thank you
