By Olusola Omotunde
Cybersecurity in cloud computing is critical for all regions, but it presents special issues and ramifications in developing countries, known as the “Global South.”
Every region has its peculiarities with respect to the challenges they face with Cybersecurity.
However this paper aims at the taking a synopsis of the Global South.
This region has produced several experts in this field and ultimately contributing to the larger Cybersecurity community.
Let’s take a closer look at how cybersecurity affects cloud computing in these regions:Potential for Digital Transformation and Economic Growth:Regardless of the limitations, cloud computing provides chances for economic growth, creativity, and digital transformation in developing countries.
With good cybersecurity procedures, cloud adoption can assist governments in improving service delivery, allowing local firms to thrive, and providing startups with affordable infrastructure.
The right expertise are in place to transform startups with respect to cybersecurity best practise.Enhanced risk of cybercrime and ransomware: Small businesses, healthcare providers, and educational institutions are prominent targets because they frequently employ cloud services that lack effective security standards, exposing important data and causing operational disruptions.
Hackers and cybercriminals alike view developing nations as vulnerable to cyber attacks owing to the perceived limited technological infrastructure.
Inadequate cloud security can expose these organisations to attacks such as ransomware, which can be disastrous for governments and enterprises who lack the necessary funding for recovery.
Regulatory and Compliance Challenges : Many developing nations lack robust cybersecurity rules or frameworks, leaving cloud companies with limited legal obligations to appropriately protect user data. absence of regulation might make it difficult to create consistent security standards and hold organisations accountable this.
Compliance with foreign rules, such as the EU’s GDPR, can be difficult, particularly for organisations with little legal resources. Without defined national data protection rules, personal and organisational data in the cloud are more vulnerable.
Cybersecurity awareness is limited: Education programs for cloud cybersecurity are frequently missing, resulting in organizations relying primarily on cloud providers for security without developing internal policies and best practices.
Due to a lack of cybersecurity knowledge and education, many organisations and individuals in underdeveloped nations may be unaware of the risks connected with cloud computing.
This can result in poor cybersecurity practices such as weak passwords, inadequate access controls, and insufficient backup processes.Infrastructure and resource constraints:
The government’s budget for technological infrastructure has been downplayed by the government of most developing countries and this has had a ripple effect on the advancement of cybersecurity in this regions. Basic essentials such as reliable internet connectivity, qualified IT professionals, and secure technology may be unavailable, resulting in vulnerabilities.
This has invariably made it quite difficult for most organizations to implement very robust cyber security measures, consequently exposing such businesses to cyber threats.
Conclusion, the government of the “Global South” has a huge deficit in the role they have to play at ensuring the awareness, growth and enhancement of the cybersecurity architecture in these regions.
There is significant shortfall in the advancement of cloud security in these regions.
The government has a duty to invest in cybersecurity of the region and this has to be done expressly.
Educating and re-educating the Cyber security experts will not only significantly advance digital transformation but also improve economic growth hence increasing the quality of life.
Engineer Olusola Omotunde is an IT expert and writes from Lagos, Nigeria