Cyber crime remains one of the biggest pain points in SA, resulting in large-scale financial losses for many local organisations.
So says Dr Jabu Mtsweni, head of the Information and Cyber Security Centre at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Mtsweni was speaking during an “ITWeb on the Road” interview at the CSIR’s main campus in Pretoria, as part of a facilitated tour to showcase home-grown innovations, cyber security capabilities and tools developed by the institution’s researchers and technologists.
During the tour, the CSIR, established 80 years ago, opened the doors to its hubs: the Information and Cyber Security Centre, its learning and smart factories, as well as a robotics lab.
At the Information and Cyber Security Centre, Mtsweni pointed to the mushrooming challenge of cyber crime in the local sphere and loss of money as a result.
“In the past, they used to equate cyber crime losses to R2 billion [per annum], but that figure is bigger now because cyber crime can be committed in various ways − within government departments, in the private sector, and even among individual citizens,” he stated.
“One of the ways is to attack payment systems, particularly in government, for tenders, salaries of employees…people circumvent those systems and start stealing money. There are also the common practices of business e-mail compromise.”
Mtsweni explained how the CSIR is leaning on research and development, capacitating young people with skills and developing sovereign technology, among others, to help local organisations, particularly those in the public sector, to address the cyber crime challenge.
The cyber security centre’s locally-developed technologies include a toolkit on POPIA compliance, for organisations and government departments to be compliant when processing personal information, and a prototype of a cyber early warning system.
“The [cyber crime] problem is big but it’s not only a South African problem, it’s global issue. There are a lot of cases, for example, that police are trying to investigate, but one of the critical gaps is that the skills are very limited and there is limited investment. While there is a lot of work happening, it’s still not enough to deal with the scourge because the criminals are nowadays more advanced than the police.
“But within the country, we have the Cyber Crimes Act that tries to address the problem. It’s not fully operationalised but there are efforts to get it there. Entities like the South African Banking Risk Information Centre in the banking sector also do some great work.
“We are building capabilities here for law enforcement, and we are already supporting them in terms of investigating some of the criminal activities, so that they can prosecute. In my view, there is still a lot to be done because there is a lot of money being lost that can be used, for example, to address issues of socio-economic service delivery and the like.”
80 years of innovation
An entity of the science, technology and innovation department, the CSIR was established on 5 October 1945, to support industrial development in South Africa post-World War II
The CSIR undertakes directed and multidisciplinary research and technological innovation, as well as industrial and scientific development. It counts various government entities and departments as its clients, including the Department of Defence.
With five campuses spread across the country (Pretoria, Braamfontein, Durban and two in Stellenbosch), the CSIR has just under 2 400 staff members, made up of scientists, engineers, researchers, innovators and technologists.
The institution’s work covers 12 sectors of SA’s economy: defence and security, mining, manufacturing, chemicals, health, advanced agriculture, food, ICT, the built environment, energy, water and mobility.
According to Dr Belinda Matebese, senior researcher and operations manager at the CSIR’s learning factory, the CSIR uses the learning factory for skills, the smart factory for data, and the robotics lab for innovation.
During the tour, Matebese and her colleague, software engineer Thabisa Maweni, showcased customisable robotics, 3D printers and virtual reality tools.
“The learning factory was an idea to support students, to enhance their skills, while getting a practical hands-on experience of the industries they’ll be working in. It started with the manufacturing industry, but is customisable for other industries. The learning factory concept can also be applied to mining, defence and other sectors.”
She added that the facilities aim to create shared manufacturing infrastructure where businesses (big and small) can thrive, and the workforce is ready for the future.
“We are not just importing digital transformation; we are localising, de-risking and leading it, ensuring SA’s industry is resilient, globally competitive and prepared for the next 80 years of innovation.”
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