In Africa, where NGOs serve as beacons of hope, providing essential services and driving development, cybersecurity often seems like a distant concern. Yet, as these organisations increasingly engage with European and American funders, managing cybersecurity risks becomes not just important but imperative. With the digital landscape becoming more perilous, NGOs must embrace robust cybersecurity frameworks to protect their operations, their data, and ultimately, the communities they serve. Let’s explore why frameworks like ISO/IEC 27001, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, GDPR, PCI DSS, and COBIT are not just bureaucratic red tape, but lifelines for NGOs operating in Africa.
The Bedrock of Information Security
ISO/IEC 27001 stands as a gold standard for Information Security Management Systems (ISMS). For NGOs, this framework offers a structured approach to managing sensitive information, ensuring it remains secure from prying eyes. The beauty of ISO/IEC 27001 lies in its universality; it’s not tailored for multinationals alone but for any organization looking to protect its data.
