By Aisha Tamba
The Gambia Public Utilities Regulatory Authority on Wednesday concluded stakeholders’ 10-day training on cybersecurity technical awareness held at its headquarters on Kairaba Avenue.
The training aims to raise awareness on cybersecurity threats, reduce the risks associated with cyber-attacks and embed a culture of security compliance in organisations.
The 40 participants were key stakeholders drawn from law enforcement, banks, Internet service providers, academia and the ICT industry in The Gambia.
Solo Sema, director of consumer affairs, Pura, expressed appreciation to the World Bank for sponsoring the training.
He said the training is deemed to be one of the most urgent and critical needs of the ICT ecosystem, encompassing one of the key sectors that Pura regulates on.
Bakebba Suso, head of Interpol at the Gambia Police Force, highlighted that cybercrimes have become a major concern in the past two decades, saying that preventing and combating cybercrimes, such as sexual exploitation of children, online radicalisation and terrorism is a challenge in the security sector.
“The anonymity of the internet and the possibility of adopting flexible identities can be incensitive for criminal behaviour,” he said, adding criminals can give access to the members and target through online services, banking, shopping, social networking, with the use of online payment.
“Harmonising the legislation will help to prevent and combat such crimes and innovate to increase electronic connectivity for investigation purpose,” added.
The training consultant ,Amadou Bah, said cybersecurity awareness should be a continuous process to help monitor critical infrastructure.
