By Bosco Bush
National Communication Authority (NCA) on Wednesday, October 16, launched the South Sudan Computer Incident Response Team (SS-CIRT) meant to safeguard the country’s digital environment from cyber threats.
CIRT will not only address current threats but will also play a proactive role in cyber security awareness across the nation.
It will provide essential advisory services and work with all stakeholders to enhance national preparedness and resilience.
“This marks the beginning of a new chapter in our fight against cyber threats, where we can face the future with greater confidence and capability”, says NCA’s Director General, Napoleon Adok.
In the past few years, South Sudan has witnessed sharp technological growth in online services and adoption of mobile money, digital payment and connected infrastructure.
These advancements hold immense promise-offering opportunities for innovation, economic growth, and improved services for all citizens.
However, these advancements come with great exposure to threats including cybercrime, data breaches, fraud and attacks on critical infrastructure.
Adok attached the significance of countering these risks ahead of time “to ensure that the digital opportunities we are unlocking are not overshadowed by vulnerabilities, adding that “a secure digital environment is critical to our nation’s prosperity, security and public trust.”
CIRT will serve as the central hub for coordinating cybersecurity efforts across sectors-whether public, private or critical infrastructure.
It will be the first line of defence detecting, responding to, and mitigating cyber incidents as they arise.
The Director General emphasizes the need and readiness to establish comprehensive policies and legal framework that will efficiently guide and support the overall work of the CIRT as well as the protection of privacy and data security.
A Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) is a group responsible for responding to security breaches, viruses and other potentially catastrophic incidents in enterprises that face significant security risks.
It’s also known as the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).
The team will be responsible for receiving, reviewing and responding to computer security incident reports and activity raised by any user, company, government agency or organization.