From Policy to Practice: Evaluation of Telecom Cybersecurity Regulation and Capacity in Southern Africa.

Abstract

The authors inquired on the effectiveness of cybersecurity controls and regulations within the telecommunications industry in Southern Africa and expounded the strengths and weaknesses of the effective governance frameworks. Complex cyber threats are much targeted to digital technology infrastructure and resilience is important to provide economic stability, consumer protection as well as national security. The investigation used a mixed method design that includes the surveys of telecom operators, policy documents study, and interviews with regulators and industry actors, the research also determines some crucial tendencies. The findings of the research show the inconsistency of policy implementation in a country, disordered compliance with regulations by telecom operator and lack of enforcement frameworks on a state level. Moreover, the absence of cross border cooperation, resource insufficiency, and the dissimilarity of the institution capabilities prevent the mutuality of cybersecurity activities. The absence of user consciousness that persists also reduces the strength of resilience as the users are still under the threat of phishing, mobile money attacks and SIM-swap fraud. The positive advances in this study also include the emergence of national Computer emergency response teams (CERT), the adoption and congruency of policies with global standards and the increasing political intent to prevent the cyber threat. To sum up, it is important to note that despite the significant improvement, the telecom industry in the region is at the lowest level of cybersecurity. The paper takes into account standardization of cybersecurity at regional level, increased regulatory controls, capacity-building and sensitization efforts through skills and awareness gimmicks, and regional integration to produce a healthier, more sensitive and secure telecom environment in Southern Africa.