Month after month, Mozambique faces an average of 1.5 million cyber attacks, a fact that brings to light the country's major vulnerabilities in this field, according to a warning issued by the chief executive of the Portuguese technology company Bravantic.
The revelation made by Eduardo Vicente highlights Mozambique's delicate position, which, although it has begun its journey in cybersecurity, still has many steps to consolidate. These words were spoken during his interaction with the media present at an international conference on cybersecurity in Maputo.
Official data for the first half of this year indicate that Mozambique's Public Prosecutor's Office (MP) recorded 367 cases linked to cybercrime. Although these figures show a decrease of 6.6% compared with the same period in 2022, the situation is described as worrying.
Eduardo Vicente stressed his concern that many companies that are victims of these attacks do not share this information, often for reasons related to protecting their image or for internal reasons.
With the digital transformation process under way in many companies in Africa, the continent is becoming a target for cyber threats. Africa's rapid growth, often accompanied by hasty measures without due consolidation in the area of security, reinforces this vulnerability. The head of Bravantic stresses the need for investment in security and in training specialists to tackle this challenge.
According to the 2017 population census, among the roughly 30 million Mozambicans, one in five has a mobile phone, but only 6% have access to the internet. The number of people with access to a computer is even lower, at 4.4%.
In 2018, the Government of Mozambique endorsed a resolution ratifying the African Union convention on cybersecurity and data protection. However, as recently as last year, a cyber attack paralysed several of the country's official portals, with the situation contained after a few hours.
Founded in 1996, Bravantic, a company with exclusively Portuguese capital, operates not only in Mozambique, but also in Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde and the United Arab Emirates, providing technology solutions for companies.
