Roundup: Tanzania plans to tighten cyber crime laws

Tanzania plans to introduce Personal Data Protection Act to strengthen fight against cybercrime in the east African nation, senior official said Thursday.

Yahya Simba, Tanzania's Home Affairs deputy minister revealed this here when addressing the Africa Cyber Security Summit.

He cited cyber related crimes as the major threat against the communication sector and people's development in Africa.

According to him, protection of data privacy is one of the most pressing issues in the contemporary digital age. Data protection law will include governing the collection, holding, processing, disclosure and transfer of individuals' personal information.

He said that the government is tirelessly finding ways to ensure that cybercrime is fought by all means.

"The endorsement of the law will be an addition to the current arsenal of laws against cyber and communication crimes," he said.

Last year Tanzania came up with Cyber Crime Act, making it the fifth African nation to introduce the law after Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Zambia.

Ambassador Simba noted that global reports indicate a rise in cyber crime whereby more joint efforts are needed to fight it.

He also spoke on the benefits of the Cybercrime Act noting that it has greatly reduced online abuses after a number of people have been taken to court.

He said most of the offences include sedition and youth are the primary victims as some of them have been sharing pictures which aim to incite the public.

The deputy minister defended the law, saying those who view it as draconian have criminal intent.

"There is no law or act that will suit everybody, those who think it is oppressive are those who benefit from the absence of the law, and there are just a few," he said.

Oracle Corporation vice president, Janusz Naklicki said that modern technologies have allowed countries worldwide to build networks that rapidly convey and exchange information and help boost their businesses.

"The summit aims at creating awareness on what is happening in terms of security and also notify authorities and responsible leaders of solutions other people have implemented to secure their businesses," he said.

Naklicki said the event came at a time when the global cyber crime market is worth a staggering 300 billion U.S. dollars.

"If you look at what has happened in the past six months, either in government or private sector, a lot of people have either been hacked, a lot of systems have been defaced resulting in denial of services and therefore losses," Naklicki added.

He noted that every year organisations pour billions of dollars into information security. And like clockwork, every year hackers find new ways to access and steal sensitive data.

Organised by Oracle Corporation together with the government, the summit looked deeply into understanding cyber threats and cybercrimes, and how to tackle these issues and at the same time how to create awareness.

Stakeholders in the ICT industry gathered to explore the security dangers organisations face and it focused on three pillars of cyber security, content and data privacy and governance, risk and compliance. Endit