Three years after its approval by the Council of Ministers and the start of its implementation, the National Digital Security Strategy (SNSN) is being evaluated by stakeholders in the digital ecosystem.
Three years after its approval by the Council of Ministers and the start of its implementation, the National Digital Security Strategy (SNSN) is being evaluated by stakeholders in the digital ecosystem. This mid-term review will lay the foundations for its update, so as to better respond to the new challenges arising from changes in digital usage and the related threats. It was with this in mind that the Information Systems and Digital Agency (ASIN) organised, on Thursday 20 April 2023, the workshop on updating the National Digital Security Strategy.
The aim of this workshop, opened by the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Ms Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, and bringing together stakeholders from the digital ecosystem, was to present the results of the evaluation of the implementation of the forty-seven (47) projects/programmes included in the SNSN action plan. At the start of proceedings, the Director General of ASIN, Mr Marc-André LOKO, spoke of the need for States to adopt a cyber strategy, given the increasingly complex sovereignty challenges they face as a result of the blurred and intertwined boundaries of jurisdiction and sovereignty in cyberspace. “The economic and financial sovereignty of our States is being challenged by the considerable acceleration, through networks, of financial flows, which sometimes facilitate abuses and give rise to many threats,” he said. This is why Benin has resolutely committed itself to a strong ambition of making digital technology and cybersecurity a genuine lever for creating added value for citizens and businesses.
For the Minister of Digital Affairs and Digitalisation, Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU, this workshop marks the end of one process and the beginning of another. “It is understandable that we should pause, three years after the approval of our SNSN, to find out whether we have delivered on the promise of this strategy approved by the Government,” she said. Minister Aurelie ADAM SOULE ZOUMAROU reminded participants that the challenges are even greater now that Benin's digital transformation has intensified, with the digitalisation of administrative processes at all levels. “This comes with many more vulnerabilities and, of course, the need for us as stakeholders to put in place what is required to reassure the users of our services,” she continued.
Following the opening of the workshop, proceedings were led by Dominique Bourra, an international consultant in information systems security.