Malawi ICT Firm Offers Data Protection Training

Malawi: An information and communication technology firm, Sparc Systems, on Wednesday, offered training to companies on innovative data protection solutions, as the country embraces technology amid increasing cyber threats, writes Thokozani Beaton.

Wisely Phiri, the Managing Director of Sparc Systems, which organized the workshop in Blantyre in collaboration with ORACLE, said the aim was to showcase to participants how cyber security solutions can protect data from hackers.

"Sometimes we think that as a third world country, Malawi is not vulnerable to hacking threats, but it has actually been attacked a lot," Phiri said.

"Unfortunately, companies or individuals are not speaking about the threats they experience in the digital space."

Phiri emphasized that the development of cyber security solutions has the capacity to protect data and information from intruders.

Clarence Gama, President of the ICT Association of Malawi and CEO at Nico Technologies Limited, praised the workshop, saying that data in the digital space needs protection and that new innovations can help countries, including Malawi, which is growing in terms of technological advancements.

"The moment we start feeding our data into systems such as servers and hard drives, it becomes accessible to everyone in the world," Gama said.

"While digitization has brought efficiency, it also means our data is exposed to the outside world, especially if we don't have measures to protect it. So, these interventions are necessary and can help us protect our data."