In a compelling episode of “AI-Impact Talk,” host Thembekile Mrototo explored the critical topic of cybersecurity in South Africa’s rapidly evolving digital landscape. The discussion featured Kerissa Varma,Chief Security Adviser at Microsoft Southern Africa , who shared valuable insights on the challenges and opportunities in securing the country’s digital future.
Varma aptly compared cybersecurity knowledge to having a driver’s license—an essential requirement for navigating the digital economy safely. “Cyber security really keeps businesses and people safe in this digital world,” she explained, emphasising that this knowledge has become fundamental as African businesses increasingly digitise their operations and consumers use more online services.
The conversation revealed some alarming statistics about cybercrime in Africa. According to Varma, cybercrime costs the continent approximately $8.4 billion annually—a staggering sum that, if redirected, could significantly transform African economies, businesses, and communities.
“If you think about injecting that back into our economies, injecting that back into our people, injecting that back into our businesses, that loss potential has a massive ability to transform Africa,” Varma noted.
While the financial cost is enormous, Varma highlighted that the impact of cybercrime extends well beyond monetary losses. Recent cyberattacks have targeted essential services like blood banks and hospitals, directly affecting people’s health and lives.
“These cyber attacks scale beyond financial impact. They impact everyone at a human level—they are impacting lives, livelihoods, and it’s becoming increasingly complex to navigate,” she explained.
The discussion traced how cybercrime has evolved from primarily financially motivated attacks, such as ransomware, to include espionage and nation-state attacks reflecting the current geopolitical climate. Varma explained how sophisticated cybercriminal syndicates now operate “ransomware as a service,” allowing individuals without technical backgrounds to conduct attacks for financial gain.
Phishing remains a major entry point for cyberattacks in South Africa, with artificial intelligence now enabling attackers to gather information faster and scale their attacks more effectively, making them increasingly difficult to detect.
While AI presents new challenges for cybersecurity, Varma expressed optimism about its potential to strengthen defence capabilities. She noted that Microsoft customers are seeing a 30% reduction in security incidents using artificial intelligence solutions.
“AI is going to transform our ability to protect ourselves,” she said. “If security practitioners can understand these patterns before attackers utilize them to infiltrate organisations or governments, it gives us the proactive ability to close down weaknesses.”
Varma emphasised Microsoft’s commitment to rigorous security testing of AI products, revealing that the company has had the world’s first artificial intelligence security testing team since 2018. This continuous testing process adapts to evolving threats and includes sharing insights even with competitors, recognising cybersecurity as an ecosystem problem requiring collaborative solutions.
A significant portion of the conversation focused on the importance of cybersecurity investment, particularly in skills development. Varma encouraged businesses to take a longer-term view of cybersecurity investments rather than focusing solely on immediate costs.
“More and more investors are looking at the cyber hygiene of companies before they invest in them,” she noted, suggesting that inadequate cybersecurity practices could limit businesses’ access to investment opportunities.
Varma emphasized Africa’s unique potential to become a global hub for AI and cybersecurity skills, highlighting the continent’s youthful population and innovative spirit. She shared that Microsoft is investing in upskilling one million people across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria in AI and cybersecurity over the next year.
“We’ve got such an innovative culture in Africa. The African spirit is really ‘make a plan, we’ll get it done.’ We’ve got very little, but we can stretch it,” she said, pointing to the opportunity for Africans to develop solutions to problems they understand better than anyone else.
As “AI-Impact Talk” continues to explore the transformative potential of technology, this conversation with Varma provided valuable insights into how individuals, businesses, and nations can approach cybersecurity in an increasingly digital world.
The discussion underscored that cybersecurity is not just a technical challenge but a shared responsibility requiring collaboration across the ecosystem—from governments and large corporations to small businesses and individual users—to secure South Africa’s digital future.
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