By Serge Valery Zongo, Programme Officer, ITU; and Yasmine Idrissi Azzouzi, Junior Officer, ITU
The Government of Benin has adopted a new National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) and plan of action for 2020-2022, endorsed by the Council of Ministers on May 6, 2020.
This critical commitment in cybersecurity comes in the context of President Patrice Talon’s government’s efforts to make the national digital transformation a vector of economic and social development of the country, with cybersecurity as an essential element to build trust and foster the secure development of the digital economy.
The main vision of Benin’s new National Cybersecurity Strategy’s is to ensure the creation of reliable and attractive cyberspace for a thriving digital economy. It revolves around five main strategic axes: protection of information systems and critical infrastructure, fight against cybercrime and development of the legal and regulatory framework, development of digital security skills and culture, promotion of digital trust and national coordination and international cooperation.
“I am convinced that the implementation of our digital security strategy will profoundly change the digital sector in Benin by reinforcing security within our digital projects by building even greater digital trust,” says Benin’s Minister of Digital and Digitalization, Ms. Aurélie Adam Soulé. “It will also stimulate the creation of new professions and new employment opportunities. These are a total of forty-seven key actions to be carried out to win the fight for economic development through digital trust and innovation.”
The new strategy was developed with the support of ITU experts, building on ITU’s publication “National Cybersecurity Strategy Guide“, and in consultation with national key stakeholders.
“Throughout the project engagement with ITU experts, a holistic approach was adopted, including a large number of stakeholders in Benin’s digital ecosystem, so that once finalized, the Strategy would take into account the needs of all and thus become a community tool,” says the Director-General of Benin’s National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), Ouanilo Jérôme Medegan Fagla,.
On June 11, 2020, the new strategy was officially presented to the general public, with the participation of Ms. Soulé, Minister of Digital and Digitalization, the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), and the ITU. On this occasion, ITU showcased the process of the development of the NCS in Benin and the search for consensus from a broad range of stakeholders which has underpinned the work building up to the final outcome.
