Zambian gov't warns against e-commerce

The Communications Authority of Zambia has warned against e-commerce, claiming Zambia lacks the skills, equipment and organized systems to fight cybercrime.

Every Zambian engaging in e-commerce should know that the Internet is open to everyone and should, therefore, be cautious, said CAZ information systems manager Garry Mukelebai.

"It is not possible for users in Zambia to know that someone has entered their computers and gotten information from them, and [victims] may not even know that they have been hacked," Mukelebai said.

Therefore, those without sufficient software to protect their financial transactions should not rush into buying goods over the Internet, he warned.

Although the CAZ does not have data on the number of people in Zambia who have been defrauded through the Internet, Mukelebai said his organization is aware of many instances of cybercrime.

The security of public and private network communications, he said, must be protected to guard against malicious and unauthorized access, which undermines consumer confidence in e-commerce in the country.

To solve the problem, the CAZ is trying to bring together ISPs (Internet service providers) and law enforcement agents to find ways of tackling cybercrime, Mukelebai said. The regulator is also working with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to set up a KPI (key public infrastructure), which would bind keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate of authority. KPI supports message encryption and e-signatures that further enhance security.

In 2004, the Zambian Parliament passed a computer misuse and crime law to curb cybercrime, mandating up to 25 years in jail for convicted offenders. No one has so far been jailed under the law.