Dear GKD Members, I am from Kenya, and have found this discussion on Cyber-Security very interesting. I particularly wanted to comment on the theme of policy and international legal frameworks. As some on GKD already know, the World Telecommunciation Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) is meeting in Brazil this week. Among the issues being discussed are network security and access control and privacy. These issues are of great importance to us in Africa, and surely our voice should be included in the standardisation process itself.
Yet the big problem for us is that we do not have the preparation or expertise to participate fully in this world conference and defend our interests. One of the resolutions to come out of WTSA 2000 called for greater participation from developing countries in the telecommunications standardisation process and greater involvement in WTSA itself. However, this resolution can be fulfilled only if developing countries are given adequate and timely access to information and international networking opportunities in order to prepare for the Assembly. Also we need more training to build the expertise we need to participate fully. Although a preparatory meeting of African countries was held this June in Zimbabwe, I still do not feel that we from developing countries have enough opportunities to network internationally and develop enough telecommunications policy background so that we can present our case effectively to the world assembly. On a continent where cyber-crime and online fraud is spreading so quickly, we must have a say in the formulation of international telecommunications standards that address these issues. I hope that someone on GKD will be able to give advice to those of us in Africa trying to help our countries establish standards and the legal frameworks necessary to ensure our own cyber-security. Daniel Mathenge ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
