Huawei Ethiopia Provides Cyber Security Training

The Ethiopian Herald

Huawei Ethiopia has provided the Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) with a three-day-long cyber security training. The training was given by Huawei’s top cyber security experts. The training that has been taking place during the aforementioned time frame was attended by 20 experts drawn from various companies in Ethiopia.

During the training, the Ethiopian Communications Authority Director General Balcha Reba stated in his opening remarks that such cyber security training is highly appreciated and acknowledged during this era of technological advancement. Huawei’s efforts in building digital Ethiopia are;

“based on the premise of a security issue is not something provided by an external body to us, it is a system and a strategy that have to develop internally. It is not only a tactical or technological input; it is also a matter of policy and strategy as well. So, all the leaders, as well as the vendors in the industry, all together need to work on accountability.”

The Director also added that when discussing cyber technology, it is important to understand the who, how, and what. It is a must to understand who the hackers are that affect our systems by stealing data, how viruses work, and which components of our software and systems must function effectively to safeguard our systems. Therefore, such training is beneficial in learning more about cyber security issues and acting accordingly.

The CEO of Huawei Ethiopia Chen Mingliang (Jerry) for his part expressed his gratitude and respect to the Ethiopian Communications Authority for the efforts made to coordinate and build a better-connected Ethiopia and for the endeavors that make Ethiopia enter the 5G era. He also emphasized that we live in a highly interconnected world, where the physical and digital worlds are increasingly converging, and the network boundaries are blurring.

Cyber security and privacy protection are increasingly important. And Huawei has established 7 cyber security transparency centers around the world, including 2 global centers located in Brussels and Dongguan (China), with 3,000 employees working full-time on cyber security Research and Development (R&D). Each year and about 5 percent of its research, development, and budget are spent on cyber security and privacy protection related to the research and development.

By the end of 2020, he stated that Huawei has held more than 100,000 active patents across over 40,000 families, among which 2,963 are related to cyber security and privacy protection. The training covered global cyber security challenges and analysis, introduction to cyber security governance standards, introduction to Huawei’s end-to-end cyber security assurance system, 5G security technologies based on 5G security considerations, and a virtual tour exhibition in the Cyber Security and Privacy Protection Transparency Exhibition Hall.

The public relations director of Huawei Ethiopia Ye Liming also said that after the training, the participants are expected to translate the knowledge acquired from the training into practice and devoted to the building of digital Ethiopia.

Meanwhile, Shumate Gezaw Director General of the Information Network Security Administration (INSA) stated recently that Ethiopia is working to prevent cyber attacks by building its own digital technology capacity. He said that with the development of digital technology, cyber attack attempts are increasing at the international level. He further mentioned that cyber attack attempts are increasing in Ethiopia too.

Therefore, he added that efforts are being made to prevent cyber attacks by developing a workforce that is trained in the field and has professional ethics and self-development of digital technology applications. The development of digital applications of their own will is ensuring the right of ownership of technology and thus create the ability to prevent cyber attacks.

According to Shumate Gezaw. ensuring digital transformation is the most important for the success of Ethiopia’s plans to achieve universal development at all levels. In this regard, 75 percent of the cyber attack prevention and protection technologies currently used in Ethiopia are developed in the country.

He further stated that by increasing this effort, Ethiopia will carry out cyber protection activities with fully developed technologies in its own capacity. He also explained that Ethiopia is working to prevent cyber attacks in a manner that considers the geopolitics of the region. At present, various activities are being carried out to increase public utility and ensure cyber sovereignty, according to the cyber security administration (INSA).