Positive Group mulling creation of JV in Morocco

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - Positive Group PJSC (the parent company of Positive Technologies Group, which develops solutions in the field of information security) is considering the possibility of creating a joint venture with partners from Morocco, the company's Deputy General Director for Business Development Boris Simis said during the Russia-Africa summit on Friday.

"Together with our colleagues from Morocco we discussed the creation of a joint venture, where we will create some common solution on the basis of the national telecom operator [Maroc Telecom], which will protect the country [provide information security at the state level]," Simis said.

Moreover, Simis said, the company is ready to use this approach in other countries around the world. "We realize that this is the future, that countries want to have their own national cyber sovereignty," he said.

Positive Group has so far declined to comment on plans or possible JV options both in Morocco and elsewhere.

At the same time, Alexei Novikov, director of Positive Technologies' Expert Security Center (PT Expert Security Center), told Interfax that attackers are currently most interested in financial organizations in African countries. "Almost every fifth successful attack on organizations (18%) was aimed at this industry," Novikov said. As a rule, attackers pursue financial gain. Nevertheless, industrial facilities are also under threat - the industrial sector accounts for 10% of attacks.

For example, he said, large companies such as Flutterwave, TransUnion and Porsche's headquarters in South Africa, Eskom and the Electricity Company of Ghana have been subject to cyberattacks.

"The digitalization of the African region is happening rapidly, but the lack of proper measures to build cybersecurity, insufficient legislative frameworks for information security and low levels of cyber literacy among the population are leading to an increase in cyber threats," according to the "Cyber Threats Relevant to Africa: 2022-2023" study by Positive Group. "This creates a favorable environment for cybercriminals. Many African countries face economic constraints, making it difficult to allocate sufficient funds to cybersecurity," the company said.

According to the company, the frequency of cyber incidents is also being seen in African countries. As such, in Q2 2023, Africa saw the highest average number of cyberattacks per week per organization - a 23% increase in the number of attacks. In 2022, Africa's low level of preparedness for cyber threats cost the states of this region an average of 10% of GDP (the GDP of the region at the end of 2022 is estimated at $2.98 trillion, in 2023 growth of this indicator is expected to be 3-4%, it is projected to increase to $4 trillion by 2027).

In turn, Deputy Digital Minister Alexander Shoitov noted that, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, the market of information and communication technology (ICT) solutions for the public sector in the African region is estimated at about $100 billion for the period through 2030. At the same time, current ICT trade turnover between Russia and African countries is at a low level, he said. "For the period from September 2022, Russia's exports of ICT solutions and services to countries of the African region amounted to $8 million, while imports from these countries amounted to $2.5 million," Shoitov said.