INSA Foils About 98 Percent of Cyber Attacks in Last Quarter of EFY

Addis Ababa, November 9/2023 (ENA)  The Information Network Security Administration (INSA) has successfully thwarted close to 98 percent of the 2,556 attempted cyber attacks in the first quarter of this Ethiopian Fiscal Year (EFY), INSA Director-General Solomon Soka disclosed.

The director-general told ENA that  97.73 percent of the attempted attacks were foiled.

Solomon said the finance sector, health and education institutions, media organizations, entities that administer key infrastructures, security and intelligence institutions and government institutions were the main targets of the cyber-attacks.

In this connection, he stressed the need to strengthen the capacity of institutions and individuals to prevent cyber-attacks noting that the capacity-building institutions include the three pillars: human resource, infrastructure, and technology. 

Stressing the significance of the national cyber security research conference held today to raise awareness on cyber-security, he commended 21 of the researches carried out by the administration and other   institutions.

Solomon further noted that "Digital Ethiopia 2025 creates favorable condition for the country's digital transformation and conducting supplementary cyber security studies, reducing dependence on other countries technologies and preventing cyber-attacks."

In this regard, he added that the conference improves the connection and knowledge sharing between institutions and experts in the sector. 

INSA has been combating increasing cyber-attacks targeting the country as it is making progress towards achieving its digital strategy, it was learned.

Solomon also mentioned the need to undertake consecutive awareness creation measures and pointed out that INSA has been doing so in a number of ways.

INSA has been working on crafting and implementing law frameworks, policies, strategies and standards to prevent cyber-attack and ensure cyber security. 

The Computer Crime Proclamation was approved 10 years ago and the telecom fraud and Information Security Policy prepared two years later, the director-general recalled, revealing that this policy is submitted now to the Council of Ministers as a National Cyber Security Policy for approval.