WINDHOEK - Economic loss due to cybercrime is predicted to reach US$3 trillion (about N$45 trillion) by 2020, and 74 percent of the world’s businesses can expect to be hacked in the coming year. Current efforts to contain cyber-crime, while important, remains largely insufficient as the global impact of cyber-threats continues to grow. 

This was part of the cautionary message when the local Namibian Chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (Isaca), together with regional partners, recently hosted a successful one-day conference in Windhoek on ‘navigating through uncertain times”. 

The topics centred on internet security governance, covering an array of topics such as; assurance, security, governance, how to combat digital fraud and best ways to assess and carry out risk management. According to the association these topics should be high on every organisation’s agenda, whether public, private or profit or non-profit. 

During the conference, different organisations and their delegates listened to case studies, best practises and thought leadership from various local and international speakers. Apart from Isaca, members from the Institute of Risk Management South Africa (IRMSA) as well as members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) attended. 

Isaca is an independent, non-profit, global association, which engages in the development, adoption and use of globally accepted, industry-leading knowledge and practices for information systems. It provides centralised source of information and guidance in the growing field of auditing controls for computer systems.
Major topics discussed centred on digital connectivity and how it plays a pivotal role in unlocking innovation and prosperity around the world and the risks that come with it. Risks to cybersecurity present major obstacles to the continued and collective path to progress. Cybercriminals take advantage of a borderless playing field and the lack of trust among nation states, corporations and global law enforcement to build their criminal enterprises and launch targeted attacks, with limited risk and retribution. 

Isaca delegates emphasised that this is a systemic challenge and cyber resilience is needed and should be focused on, noting that every organisation should act as a steward of information they manage on behalf of others. Also, Isaca pointed out that every organisation contributes to the resilience of, not just their immediate customers, partners and suppliers, but also the overall shared digital environment.