ECOWAS To Launch Cybersecurity Platform In West Africa

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is set to launch a security initiative.

The initiative will be called “Platform for Advancing Cybersecurity in West Africa” and will be launched in Abuja, on Tuesday 12 September 2023.

The West African body said the platform will uphold data sovereignty, regional cyber diplomacy, combat cybercrime, and safeguard critical infrastructure while implementing the ECOWAS Action Plan which is aimed at bolstering regional cybersecurity capabilities and resilience.

This was disclosed on the West African bloc’s social media handles and website on Monday.

“This event is organized in collaboration with its esteemed partners and will serve as an official starting point for the joint implementation of the ECOWAS Action Plan to increase regional capacity and cybersecurity resilience.

“The Joint platform for advancing Cyber Security in ECOWAS was initiated under Germany’s G7 presidency with an endorsed Action Plan (2022 – 2025) focusing on building regional cyber diplomacy, combatting cybercrime, ensuring data sovereignty, and protecting critical infrastructure

“The launch will take place on September 12 followed by a two-day workshop on Confidence Building Measures (CBM) for regional cooperation. The workshop will focus on the value of developing CBMs as a tool for increasing cyber resilience in the region” ECOWAS said.