Zambia’s President Edgar Lungu has on Tuesday, 23rd March, 202 assented into law the Cyber Security and Cyber Bill of 2021. Lungu signed the Bill into law, and hoped the law will bring sanity to internet usage in the country.
The President confirmed scrutinising the bill before assenting to it.
He says this is to protect citizens from abuse by people who feel they can do or say whatever they want using the veil of cyberspace. This law is aimed at protecting all Zambians, including those who are against it.
The Bill aims to ensure the provision of cybersecurity to the country, provide for the protection of persons against cybercrime, provide for child online protection and facilitate identification, declaration, and protection of critical information infrastructure.
Also, within its provision is the collection of and preservation of evidence of computer and network related crime, revise the admission, in criminal matters, of electronic evidence, provide for the registration of cybersecurity services providers; and provide for matters connected with, or incidental to, the foregoing.
A 2016 cyber-attacks study says Zambia lost up to US$4 million, almost K100 million, in a year about six years ago at the hands of cybercriminals that hacked bank records with the help of local and international cartels.