MOU Signed To Boost Africa’s Cybersecurity Capabilities

AFRIPOL has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Group-IB, a cybersecurity firm headquartered in Singapore, at AFRIPOL’s headquarters in Algiers committed to fighting cybercrime in Africa.

AFRIPOL is an institution of the African Union tasked with enhancing the collaboration among police forces of AU Member States to prevent and combat transnational organized crime, terrorism, and cybercrime.

The partnership between AFRIPOL and Group-IB is designed to enhance cybersecurity across Africa through knowledge sharing. The two institutions will exchange intelligence on threats, share insights about cybercriminals and their networks, and conduct collaborative investigations and operations against cybercrime within the region.

Group-IB said it will share its technological advancements and specialized knowledge in cyber investigations, reverse engineering, and incident management with AFRIPOL’s personnel throughout the African member states, as the organization intensifies its efforts to address cybercrime continent-wide.

AFRIPOL has initiated partnerships with global, regional, and local law enforcement bodies to assist African police forces in addressing transnational organized crime, terrorism, and cybercrimes. The past year was marked with the completion of the highly successful Africa Cyber Surge operation organized jointly by AFRIPOL and INTERPOL Support Program for the African Union in relation to AFRIPOL (ISPA), a multinational cybercrime suppression initiative focused on identifying cybercriminals and compromised infrastructure in Africa.

During the four-month operation, Group-IB revealed it provided timely cyber threat intelligence to facilitate cooperation between INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, AFRIPOL and African countries. Several key results of the operation included amongst others the arrest of 10 individuals linked to scam and fraud activities worth $800,000, the takedown by the authorities in Eritrea of a darknet market that was selling hacking tools, and action taken against more than 200,000 pieces of malicious infrastructure that was facilitating cybercrime across Africa.

Jalel Chelba, Acting Executive Director of AFRIPOL, stated, “Africa is witnessing the fastest growth in internet and mobile telephony at present. This digital expansion offers numerous advantages to African nations while simultaneously making them vulnerable to cybercriminals who exploit cyberspace for illicit activities. Therefore, combating cybercrime necessitates robust collaboration among all relevant stakeholders, both from the public and private sectors. Such partnerships are crucial for enhancing the capabilities of AFRIPOL’s Member States to dismantle criminal networks and build protection at individual, organizational, and societal levels.”

Dmitry Volkov, CEO and co-founder of Group-IB stated “An agreement with AFRIPOL is a major milestone in Group-IB’s history as it allows us to further extend our mission of fighting cybercrime on the African continent. By pooling our expertise, resources, and knowledge, AFRIPOL and Group-IB we will be able to create a safer cyberspace in Africa.”