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Freeman Razemba in Victoria Falls
Government is working towards the passing into law of three Bills on information security to complement the Interception of Electronic Communication Act and make the digital space secure.

The three Bills which are still being pursued by the Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services are Computer and Cyber Crime, Data Protection and Electronic Transaction Bills.

The Ministry of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services Deputy Minister Dr Win Mlambo said the ministry’s effort to bring in technical experts to advise and subsequently set up the individual corporate and National Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Centres could not be done until these Bills have been passed into law.

He said this while addressing over 160 delegates attending the 2015 Annual Computer Society of Zimbabwe Regional Summer School being held here. The event is being held under the theme, ‘Information Security-Generating and Securing Wealth’.

“My ministry is aware of the opportunities as well as the dangers inherent in the digital space, where most of our information is now found. A look at local and global information security breaches and their impact are clear testimony of the magnitude of the hazard,” Dr Mlambo said.

He said information should be guarded jealously as it was in dire demand by those who deserve it and those who does not deserve it, who want to steal it, who want to comprise it and those who want to prevent others from accessing it.

“This threat comes from a wide range of sources, including individuals, motivated groups, competitor corporates and organisations, organised criminal syndicates, individual hacking enthusiasts as well as state-sponsored hackers with varying levels of sophistication,’’ he said.

Dr Mlambo said information refers to all existential data, trade and other secrets, transactional data, intellectual property, innovation and research data, personal content, branding, business processes and civilisations way of life.

He said the Computer Society summer schools provide public spheres where stakeholders could thoroughly reflect on challenges and take positions.

He urged the delegates to work with the ministry in crafting a National Information Security Policy and Strategy as a matter of urgency and to come up with recommendations on the appropriate set-up or set-ups of the preferred Computer Emergence Response Team in Zimbabwe.