Proposal for Cybersecurity Capacity Building with Human Capital in Zimbabwe

Ronny Murahwa, Ronny Murahwa

Funding Area: Capacity building / Construcción de capacidad

Problem Statement: The cybersecurity landscape is rapidly evolving, with an escalating number of sophisticated cyber threats and attacks targeting individuals, organizations, and governments worldwide. Amid this ever-growing cyber menace, a significant challenge lies in the insufficient cybersecurity capacity within many entities, hampering their ability to defend against and mitigate cyber risks effectively. This lack of capacity is manifested through inadequate technical expertise, limited resources, outdated infrastructure, and a dearth of robust policies and procedures. Consequently, these entities face increased vulnerability to cyber incidents, risking data breaches, financial losses, and reputational damage. To address this pressing issue, a comprehensive cybersecurity capacity-building initiative is imperative. Moreover, this initiative should be tailored to the specific needs of diverse entities, accounting for varying levels of technical proficiency, budget constraints, and sector-specific challenges. Additionally, fostering collaboration between public and private sectors, academia, and civil society is crucial to create a holistic and sustainable approach to cybersecurity capacity building. By bridging the cybersecurity capacity gap, this initiative aims to enhance the overall cybersecurity posture, reduce the frequency and impact of cyber incidents, and foster a cyber-aware culture.

Proposed Activities: Activities to engage a broader community include: 1. Community Forums and Workshops: The project hosts community forums and workshops to engage with stakeholders, discuss challenges, and identify collaborative solutions. 2. Webinars and Online Discussions: Regular webinars and online discussions are organized to share knowledge, best practices, and case studies, promoting active engagement from a diverse audience. 3. Capacity-building Events: The project conducts capacity-building events, such as hackathons, cybersecurity challenges, and training sessions, to attract and involve individuals from various backgrounds and skill levels. 4. Awareness Campaigns: Public awareness campaigns are run to educate a wider audience about cybersecurity risks and the importance of capacity building, encouraging active participation in the project's initiatives.

Openness: The cybersecurity capacity building project is designed to be highly open, transparent, and collaborative. The openness of the infrastructure is achieved through several key elements: 1. Open Access: The project promotes open access to its resources, training materials, and tools, making them freely available to the public. Online platforms and repositories are established to host these resources, ensuring easy accessibility and utilization by a broad community. 2. Collaboration and Partnerships: The project actively seeks partnerships with various stakeholders, including government agencies, private sector organizations, academic institutions, and civil society groups. By fostering collaboration, the project can pool expertise and resources, encouraging a collective effort towards strengthening cybersecurity capabilities. 3. Inclusivity: The project emphasizes inclusivity, ensuring that all interested individuals and entities can participate regardless of their background, expertise, or geographical location. Webinars, workshops, and training sessions are organized in diverse locations, including online, to reach a broader community. 4. Public Input and Feedback: The project encourages public input and feedback on its strategies, materials, and activities. Regular consultations and surveys are conducted to gather insights from stakeholders, enabling continuous improvement and adaptation to evolving needs.

Challenges: 1. Lack of Awareness and Understanding: Many individuals and organizations may not fully comprehend the importance of cybersecurity or the potential consequences of cyber threats, leading to low participation and support in capacity-building programs. 2. Rapidly Evolving Threat Landscape: Cyber threats are constantly evolving, making it challenging to keep up with the latest attack techniques and defense strategies. 3. Sustainability: Ensuring the long-term sustainability of capacity-building initiatives can be challenging, especially if they heavily rely on external funding. 4. Diverse Stakeholder Needs: Different organizations and sectors have varying cybersecurity requirements and levels of technical expertise, necessitating tailored capacity-building approaches. 5. Policy and Regulatory Hurdles: Inconsistent or unclear cybersecurity policies and regulations can create challenges in aligning capacity-building efforts with legal and regulatory frameworks. 6. International Cooperation: Cybersecurity is a global issue, and lack of international cooperation and information sharing can hamper effective capacity-building efforts. 7. Data Privacy Concerns: Sharing sensitive cybersecurity information for training purposes must be done carefully to avoid potential privacy breaches. 8. Cultural and Organizational Barriers: Some organizations may resist change, making it challenging to implement cybersecurity best practices and cultivate a strong security culture.

Neglectedness: This is the first time applying for cybersecurity awareness capacity building workshops.

Success: 1. Reduction in Security Incidents: Track the number and severity of cybersecurity incidents over time. A successful capacity-building program should lead to a decrease in incidents and their impact. 2. Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment: Conduct regular cybersecurity maturity assessments to gauge how well organizations and individuals are implementing cybersecurity best practices and whether they have improved over time. 3. Training Effectiveness: Evaluate the effectiveness of training programs by assessing the participants' knowledge before and after training. Use quizzes, practical exercises, or simulations to measure the level of improvement. 4. Adoption of Best Practices: Measure the extent to which organizations and individuals adopt recommended cybersecurity best practices and standards. 5. Feedback and Surveys: Gather feedback from participants to understand their perceptions of the program's usefulness, relevance, and impact. 6. Incident Response Time: Assess the time taken to detect, respond to, and recover from cybersecurity incidents. 7. Cost of Security Breaches: Analyze the financial impact of cybersecurity incidents before and after the capacity-building program. Success should be reflected in reduced financial losses from breaches. 8. Partnership and Collaboration: Measure the number and quality of partnerships formed as a result of the capacity-building program. Strong collaborations indicate successful networking and knowledge-sharing. organizations.

Total Budget: $8310.00

Affiliations: LOJ Cyber Solutions in Partnership with the Harare Institute of Technology

LMIE Carveout: Yes, cybersecurity capacity building is essential and highly relevant for low and middle-income economies. Despite having limited resources, these economies face increasing cyber threats due to their growing digital infrastructure and internet penetration. Strengthening cybersecurity capabilities through capacity building helps these countries mitigate cyber risks, protect critical infrastructure, safeguard sensitive data, and foster digital trust. By empowering individuals and organizations with knowledge and skills, they can enhance their cyber resilience and participate more securely in the global digital ecosystem, supporting economic growth and sustainable development.

Team Skills: Mr. Mugauri, a lecturer in Information and Security Assurance, possesses a comprehensive set of cybersecurity skills essential for his role. He has in-depth knowledge of various cybersecurity technologies, tools, and methodologies used to protect information systems and networks. He understands incident response procedures, enabling him to effectively handle and mitigate cybersecurity incidents. Mr. Mugauri is adept at conducting security awareness training for students and staff, promoting a culture of cybersecurity awareness. Mr Musara is also a lecturer in Information and Security Assurance department and has expertise in ethical hacking techniques, which helps him identify and rectify security weaknesses proactively. Mr. Musara understands cryptographic principles and can implement encryption mechanisms to protect data at rest and in transit. Mr Murahwa is a Network Engineer for the Zimbabwe Research & Education network and is very passionate about information security. He is knowledgeable about data protection laws and practices, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information. He is also Solution-Oriented IT Specialist with more than 10 years progressive experience in managing maintaining IT infrastructure, having a proven ability to create and deliver solutions tied to business growth. Skilled problem identifier & troubleshooter comfortable in managing systems, projects and teams in a range of IT environments

Submission Number: 125