Samoa Government wages war on cyber crime

The government of Samoa celebrated a milestone Wednesday.

It was the launch of a Cyber Security Strategy for 2016-2021, which aims to ensure private information for Samoan citizens are not only protected but the privacy of Samoans remain private and confidential.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Afamasaga Rico Tupa’i, highlighted the importance of cyber security for all citizens of Samoa.

“Our location and isolation from the big part of the world has helped keep us safe, from traditional forms of attack, our borders are well covered and well protected from the importation of guns and other weapons,” he said.

“But every day, you get a spam email on your computer. And every hour of the day, there is a virus attached to your computer system. And millions of credit cards have been stolen.

“We are not immune to cyber attack ladies and gentlemen. We can be attacked from anyone from anywhere around the world at anytime.”

Afamasaga said the government is looking at capitalising on technology to grow the economy and investing in sub-marine cables is a major part of this.

For instance, the Tui-Samoa Submarine Cable is a big part of this. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

“Next year, we also hope to launch the Pacific Cable project. Our aim is for Samoa to be the hub of the Pacific in communication by 2020,” he said.

“All that will improve our efficiency and increase our capacity to be better and effectively communicate without cyber work.

“Internet will no longer be a luxurious reserve for only a few but it will be for any Samoa to easily access information.


SOURCE: SAMOA OBSERVER