African Diplomacy and International Affairs (Political Science focus) | 19 July 2003
Cybersecurity in East African Financial Systems: Threats and Mitigation Strategies
V, i, n, c, e, n, t, N, a, k, i, m, b, w, a, ,, J, a, n, e, M, u, k, a, w, a, n, d, a
Abstract
Cybersecurity threats in East African financial systems have become increasingly prominent due to the rapid digitization of banking and financial services. A mixed-method approach was employed, including a literature review and semi-structured interviews with cybersecurity experts from the region. Analysis revealed that phishing attacks account for approximately 30% of all reported cyber incidents in Ugandan financial institutions. The study concludes that while current security measures are effective against most threats, there is a need to enhance training programmes and implement more advanced intrusion detection systems. Financial regulators should mandate regular cybersecurity audits and encourage the adoption of multi-factor authentication for all online transactions. East Africa, Cybersecurity, Financial Institutions, Uganda, Mitigation Strategies Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin<em>{\theta}\sum</em>i\ell(y<em>i,f</em>\theta(x<em>i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert</em>2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.