The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has stepped up efforts to fortify digital defences across the region, convening the seventh SADC Cyber Drill and Cybercrime Co-operation summit in Luanda, Angola.
The five-day high-level programme brought together 282 delegates from SADC member states, alongside key regional Information and Communications Technology bodies including the Communication Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa and the Southern African Telecommunications Association. Discussions focused on improving incident-response co-ordination, protecting critical infrastructure in sectors such as energy and finance, and harmonising legal frameworks against rising cyber threats.
Opening the summit, Angolan Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication Mário Augusto da Silva Oliveira reaffirmed his government’s commitment to advancing regional cybersecurity. SADC Secretariat officials also noted significant progress, reporting that operational Computer Incident Response Teams across member states have expanded from just four in 2018 to thirteen in 2026.
The regional exercise featured specialised technical drills using advanced simulation platforms, alongside a pioneering tabletop cybercrime co-operation exercise designed to bridge technical incident response with judicial and criminal justice processes.
–ChannelAfrica/SADC–
