Icasa to hold hearings on cybersecurity

Communications regulator Icasa will hold public hearings later this month to determine what its role should be in regulating cybersecurity in South Africa.

Icasa said on a statement on Thursday that the hearings will take place at its new offices in Centurion, Pretoria on 17 and 18 January. They follow the publication of a discussion document, which called for written submissions “regarding the authority’s role and responsibilities in the regulation of cybersecurity”.

The regulator received 13 submissions from interested stakeholders, six of which indicated their willingness to make oral representations.

“The publication of the discussion document was perpetuated by the proliferation of Internet interconnections and increased data services that have led to a significant growth of cyberattack incidents, often with disastrous consequences,” it said.

“The discussion document further examines the role of various ICT regulators in the governance of cybersecurity in their respective countries,” Icasa added. “The aim is to benchmark and/or compare the role these regulators are playing in the cybersecurity space and determine whether it is necessary for Icasa to adopt similar approaches taking into account its mandate.”

Companies and organisations that will present at the public hearings are Media Monitoring Africa, Research ICT Africa, the South African Communications Forum, MTN, Cell C and Vodacom.  — (c) 2018 NewsCentral Media