Egypt under (cyber) attack: In recent years, Egypt’s public and private sectors havewitnessed a considerable increase in high-profile cyber attacks, from claims that hackers have obtained and sold online the WhatsApp numbers of 45 mn Egyptians to unconfirmed reports alleging that two Egyptian blue chip companies were hacked by LockBit — the world’s most successful ransomware gang at the time — compromising personal and financial data. The attacks suggest that cybercriminals have turned their sights on Egypt and other emerging markets, banking on companies here taking a less-sophisticated approach to cybersecurity and having a less than efficient cybersecurity infrastructure.

** Enterprise sat down with Fawry CEO Ashraf Sabryto discuss the nitty gritty of what happened when the company was hacked and the steps they’re taking to prevent this from happening again.

Cybercrime is a global issue, but one that is especially prevalent in the Middle East:Global data breaches increased 20% y-o-y in 2023, writes the Harvard Business Review, with ransomware gang activity in the Middle East surging a whopping 77%.

Egypt’s business environment makes it vulnerable: In the past year, more than 50% ofglobal cyber attacks have been carried out on SMEs, vice chair of ins. brokerage Medmark Ins. Brokerage’ Walid Auf said during a BEBA cybersecurity-focused breakfast meeting attended by Enterprise. SMEs account for over 90% of all enterprises active in Egypt, according to figures collected by HSBC.

To add fuel to the fire: Historically, banks and telecom firms have been the mainstay clients of cybersecurity solution providers, yet the landscape has changed over the past few years. “Covid shifted a lot of businesses online, exposing them to various threats that they previously were not exposed to. Egypt saw the emergence of a number of fintech startups that build their services and customer offerings around cloud technologies,” cybersecurity consultancy Liquid C2’s Regional Manager Sherif Shaltout told Enterprise.

High cost makes cybersecurity services a little inaccessible: Outsourced cybersecurityservices in some areas across the globe start at USD 2k-3.5k a month and can increase depending on the size of the business and how many users or clients it has. “Many companies are trying to bring that cost down, but the fact is that there are very few cybersecurity experts compared to the demand, which tends to keep the price of the services on the higher end,” Shaltout told us. “Given that [cybersecurity investments] are not revenue-generating spending, but more of an ins. policy, it’s also not always easy to explain the return on investment, especially for smaller companies looking to grow.”

It shouldn’t be a barrier to access: Services and prices can be tailored to the customer,Shaltout said. “We can have contracts as low as USD 5k, all the way to multi-mn USD agreements, depending on the customer’s requirements and size. We are trying to democratize

access to cybersecurity by offering a lot to customers and leveraging technology and cloud services to make it accessible.”

Firms have the responsibility of protecting their customers: Firms that fail to implementpolicies to secure their networks and customers' data will face considerable damage to their reputations in the event that an attack does take place. “We now have more startups, more e-wallets, more online banking and shopping, meaning that the life of our customers is online. It also means that network providers, like Vodafone, have a liability towards their customers,” Vodafone Egypt’s Head of Cybersecurity Samah Khamis told BEBA.

ON THE REGULATORY FRONT-

Cybersecurity regulation, legislation is nascent: In the past decade, Egypt has begun todevelop its cybersecurity strategy, establishing the Supreme Cybersecurity Council, passing personal data protection and anti-cybercrime laws, and creating the Egyptian Computer Emergency Readiness Team, which has cooperation agreements with the US, South Korea, and Malaysia and is a member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Computer Emergency Response Team. Yet, while there is relative regulatory maturity in Egyptian banks, financial institutions and telecommunication firms have a lot further to go, thinks Shaltout.

Basic regulation will help push more firms on the cyber-bandwagon: “What Egypt lacks issome form of a national security baseline, an essential eight or ten controls that every company needs to have as a minimum. It doesn’t need to be super complex or advanced,” Shaltout told us. In the future, Egypt could consider the addition of cybersecurity accreditation, with hierarchical levels granting companies the right to do business with certain sectors. “It could create a pathway for companies to enter particular markets and grow their operations,” Shaltout said.

Slowly, slowly: Creating a set of localized cybersecurity standards that consider the level of technical competencies in Egypt and the specific risks facing the country will ensure that smaller firms have a guide to implement effective strategies. Regulators must be mindful that cybersecurity is a costly journey with many firms in Egypt starting from scratch under a tough economic situation where the threat of fines will lead non-compliant companies, Shaltout said.

It’s a different story for data-heavy organizations: Heftier regulations are needed forcompanies or organizations with access to certain sets of customer data — such as healthcare entities — or at a certain level in terms of revenue and market capitalization, added Shaltout.

The world needs more cyber professionals: The global shortage of cybersecurity experts hashit Egypt, where the current economic circumstances have created brain drain as young graduates look for work in the Gulf, Europe, or US. The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has plans to build two cybersecurity facilities at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport in Alamein, NTRA’s vice president for cybersecurity affairs Ahmed Abdel Hafez said at the BEBA conference.

Could Egypt be a cybersecurity export hub? Given its large, young pool of talent equippedwith strong technical skills, Egypt has the potential to become a cybersecurity hub and export its services globally, Mazars partner Omar Shawki said at the BEBA breakfast.

Your top infrastructure stories for the week:

  • New Cairo will soon be home to a new EGP 60 bn development: UDC Real Estate Development will build an EGP 60 bn mixed-use development in New Cairo’s Al Andalus, spanning 665k sqm with residential, administrative, entertainment, commercial, and hospitality units.
  • A USD 300 mn medical-educational complex is being built in Shorouk: The New Urban Communities Authority has awarded NHMC Egypt a plot of land in Shorouk City to set up a USD 300 mn medical and educational complex alongside a residential and commercial project.
  • Telecom Egypt and Chinese tech giant Huawei have announced a strategic partnership for the deployment of 5G networks in Egypt.
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