Over 40% of respondents from 269 African businesspeople believe businesses on the continent could be doing more to protect themselves from data breaches. A quarter of respondents believe the region is falling significantly behind global standards.
The research is from African wholesale operator Liquid Telecom, which says there is a lack of qualified cybersecurity professionals and an uncertainty over evolving data protection legislation.
“African businesses find themselves at a crossroads, where they must balance digital transformation with a greater focus on security policies and how to better protect customer data,” said the company.
Liquid Telecom has published its Cybersecurity & Data Protection Report to offer guidance to African businesses as they look to address these key issues, while exposing the threat of damaging and increasingly sophisticated cybercrime.
The report says the region could be facing a skills crisis. Over 60% of respondents believe more training and qualified cybersecurity professionals are required, while over a quarter of respondents are concerned by the lack of qualified cybersecurity professionals in the region.
Data protection legislation is a grey area for many businesses in the region. Over 40% of respondents believe African governments should be introducing tougher legislation to support businesses in their fight against cybercrime, or that almost 40% aren’t even familiar enough with existing legislation to fully answer the question.
The report is available for download from Liquid Telecom.
