CBE Hosts a Delegation from CBN to Share the Egyptian Pioneering Cybersecurity Experience

In line with Egypt’s commitment to expanding its collaboration with African nations, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) welcomed a delegation from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), comprising a specialized technical team. Their visit aimed to leverage Egypt’s exceptional expertise in establishing and operating the first Sectoral Computer Incident Response Team dedicated to the Financial Sector (EG-FinCIRT).

The two-day visit of the Nigerian delegation started on the 2nd of October 2023, with the objective of enhancing bilateral coordination and cooperation in the realm of cybersecurity. During their visit, the technical team from the Cybersecurity Emergency Response Centre for the Nigerian Financial Sector (NFICERT) capitalized on the technical and operational know-how of the Egyptian cybersecurity professionals while exploring the activities and services offered by EG-FinCIRT and acquired insights into the detection, response, and mitigation of cybersecurity incidents. Moreover, the team delved into penetration testing, learned about techniques utilized in digital forensic laboratories, and reviewed procedures for analyzing malware, contributing to building up the technical capacities of the Nigerian specialized team.

Dr. Sherif Hazem, CBE’s Sub-Governor for the Cyber Security Sector, emphasized that “The Central Bank of Egypt has adopted a comprehensive strategy to bolster cybersecurity in the financial and banking sectors. This strategy includes the establishment of a banking security system aligned with the state’s plans to transform into a cashless society. The Nigerian delegation’s visit comes as an affirmation of the proactive efforts of the CBE to strengthen cooperation with response teams in other African Central Banks. This is especially important given the growing threats to the continent’s digital infrastructure. Additionally, African central banks are eager to benefit from the CBE’s pioneering experience, particularly its success in establishing and operating the first Sectoral Computer Incident Response Team dedicated to the Financial Sector (EG-FinCIRT). The EG-FinCIRT has also received accreditation and membership in the ‘Global Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams – FIRST’.”

Dr. Ibrahim Mostafa, Assistant Sub-Governor of the CBE and Director of EG-FinCIRT, stressed that “The Central Bank of Egypt recognizes the critical importance of cybersecurity in light of the increasing digital transformation and the ever-evolving, complex threats and challenges confronting the digital national infrastructure. This underscores the need to strengthen partnerships and exchange experiences among Response Teams from various Central Banks. In this context, EG-FinCIRT has focused on sharing its technical and operational experiences with the team responsible for managing the Nigerian Financial Industry Cybersecurity Emergency Response Team (NFICERT). This acknowledges the pivotal role played by the CBE in enhancing and building technological capacities in fellow African nations.”

The Egyptian and Nigerian sides reached an agreement to expand the frameworks of cooperation and intensify the exchange of experiences in the field of cybersecurity and national capacity building. They also committed to ongoing discussions regarding the development of a security strategy for Nigerian financial sector institutions.

This visit represents the second delegation from an African central bank to EG-FinCIRT this year, affirming CBE’s leadership in cybersecurity across the continent. It also illustrates the eagerness of African countries to leverage Egyptian expertise in this domain and gain comprehensive insights into the advanced monitoring mechanisms deployed by EG-FinCIRT, which play a vital role in the proactive monitoring and protection of critical digital infrastructures.