W’Bank, partners create new global fund for cybersecurity

The World Bank has partnered with four countries (Estonia, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands) to establish a new global fund for cybersecurity.

This was contained in a statement titled ‘World Bank and partners announce new global fund for cybersecurity published on the bank’s website on Monday.

The statement read, “Embracing technological transformation has increased cyber risks and threats to digital infrastructure, services, and data, which rely on increasingly connected systems.

“As digital transformation becomes essential to the functioning of states, economies, and societies, cybersecurity solutions must keep up. A partnership approach can help build trust, improve awareness, and deliver the technical solutions that countries require.”

The new Trust Fund on Cybersecurity is a Multi-Donor Trust Fund, developed as an associated trust fund under the broader Digital Development Partnership Umbrella.

Director of the World Bank’s Digital Development Global Practice, Boutheina Guermazi, was quoted as saying, “COVID-19 has highlighted the vital role digital technologies and applications play in a resilient development agenda.

“It keeps people, businesses, and public services connected. As governments are rapidly scaling up their investments into digital technologies, cybersecurity has become a pressing concern to ensure a safe and secure digital transformation for all.

“Fostering safe digital inclusion is of paramount importance for the World Bank’s work in helping countries reduce poverty, tackle inequality, and accelerate economic growth.”

The statement said the new fund aimed to better define and systematically roll out the cybersecurity development agenda, helping to ensure a more substantial reflection of cybersecurity considerations across World Bank programmes and financing.

It said, “The work programme will support the development of global knowledge on cybersecurity solutions for low and middle-income countries.

“It will fund country maturity assessments, offer technical assistance, and support training and capacity development for cybersecurity staff in World Bank client countries.”

The web page for the new cybersecurity fund stated that Africa had been one of the fastest-growing regions for cybercrime, with Nigeria losing $650m in 2019 to cybercrime activities.