Kaspersky has announced the opening of its first Transparency Center in the African region, as a part of the Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF).
The new center, located in Kigali, Rwanda, is opening as part of Kaspersky’s Global Transparency Initiative.
It is established to highlight the reliability of the company’s solutions and advocate for greater transparency throughout the cybersecurity industry.
It also provides a comprehensive insight into Kaspersky’s engineering and data processing practices, and offers visitors a live demonstration of the source code behind its products and services.
The new Center in Kigali is available for Kaspersky’s partners, customers, and regulators responsible for cybersecurity.
It is set up to offer a review option called the “blue piste,” which has become quite popular among visitors to Transparency Centers since the first one opened in 2018.
The center provides a broad view of Kaspersky’s engineering and data processing practices. Visitors can ask experts questions during their visit.
Additionally, visitors can enhance skills to assess their organizations’ ICT product security as part of the “blue piste,”
This includes learning from Kaspersky’s Cyber Capacity Building Program for government, academia, and companies.
Kaspersky’s Commitment to Digital Trust
The African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) welcomed the opening of the new Transparency Center.
It highlighted the crucial connection between transparency and the battle against cybercrime, and emphasized Kaspersky’s dedication to both causes.
“The African region is currently undergoing rapid digital transformation, with Internet penetration continually growing year on year.
“To counter potential security risks stemming from the use of technology, it is imperative to understand what forms an effective framework to mitigate risks.
“Today, we appreciate the company’s openness and welcome its Global Transparency Initiative.
“It is exemplary for organisations in the region in terms of building digital trust. AFRIPOL’s Acting Executive Director, Ambassador Jalel Chelba, commented.
He further added that Kaspersky has a proven track record of collaborating with local, regional and international law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime.
Bridging Cybersecurity Gaps in Africa
This opening will expand Kaspersky’s global network to 11 centers, covering Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and Latin America, the Middle East..
Genie Sugene Gan, Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy for Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions at Kaspersky, during her keynote speech at the ACDF stated,
“A growing emphasis on cybersecurity within the pan-regional African agenda is piquing the interest of national authorities.
“However, there remains a significant gap in cyber-capacity building.
“By opening the Transparency Center, Kaspersky aims to address the local market needs, offering education in such critical areas as evaluating product security and establishing secure development processes.
“The Transparency Center opening marks a pivotal advancement and a significant milestone for both our organisation and the region.
“This is as a result of us bringing essential capacity-building capabilities and best cybersecurity practices to the region.”
Kaspersky launched its Global Transparency Initiative in 2017, becoming a pioneer in advancing digital trust.
The initiative shows that Kaspersky is ready to share how it works, the standards it follows, and why its solutions are trustworthy.
Kaspersky also involves the community to check and confirm the reliability of its products and processes.
As part of the Global Transparency Initiative, it’s the first cybersecurity company to share its source code for external review.