GITEX Africa 2026: Why Cybersecurity Has Become Critical for Africa and Morocco - Morocco World News

Rabat – Africa’s digital transformation is no longer something for the future. It is already happening. It can be seen in public services, banking, telecoms, health systems, cloud infrastructure, and mobile payments.  Across the continent, governments are putting more services online, startups are expanding financial tools, and businesses are relying more on data and connectivity.  That shift is creating new economic opportunities. At the same time, it is giving cybercriminals and hostile actors more space to operate.  For that reason, cybersecurity is no longer a secondary issue. It has become an important part of the debate over whether Africa’s digital future will be trusted, stable, and secure. This is the context around GITEX Africa 2026, which will be held in Marrakech from April 7 to 9. The event covers a wide range of sectors, from artificial intelligence to finance and telecoms.  But one message stands out more clearly this year: cybersecurity is now at the center of Africa’s digital discussion. GITEX organizers have made this message clear.  They describe resilience as “non-negotiable” as digital systems continue to expand across the continent. Against this backdrop, the forum is set to be a place where public officials, regulators, and private sector actors can exchange ideas, coordinate responses, and take part in live crisis simulations. Why cybersecurity matters more than ever now  This urgency to be cyber secure comes from how fast things are moving. Across Africa, critical services are going digital faster than many institutions are building the protections needed to secure them. Interpol’s 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment says cybercrime is rising sharply across the continent.  More than two-thirds of the African member countries surveyed said cyber-related crime now makes up a medium to high share of overall crime.  In both West and East Africa, the Interpol report in 2025 said cybercrime accounts for more than 30 percent of reported crime. The most common threats include phishing, ransomware, business email compromise, and other forms of online fraud. This matters because the systems now moving online are no longer secondary ones. They include platforms used for salaries, identity records, tax files, medical data, financial transactions, and public services.  The World Bank has warned that cyber risks are becoming a major obstacle to digital transformation in developing countries, especially as sectors like banking, water, healthcare, and energy rely more heavily on digital systems.  When those systems are exposed, the consequences go well beyond technical disruption. They can quickly become deeper economic, political, and societal problems. There is another layer to this as well: the threat itself is becoming more complex. The World Economic Forum’s 2025 cybersecurity outlook says geopolitical tensions, dependence on supply chains, and the fast spread of AI are all making the cyber environment harder to manage.  According to the report, 66 percent of organizations expect AI to have the biggest impact on cybersecurity in the near future, yet only 37 percent say they have processes in place to assess the security of AI tools before using them.  Put simply, new technology is spreading faster than the systems meant to secure it. This is one reason GITEX Africa’s framing stands out. On its official cybersecurity page, the event says the global cybersecurity market is expected to grow from $150 billion in 2025 to more than $245 billion by 2030.  Part of that is a market forecast. But, it also points to something broader: governments and companies are investing more in cybersecurity because the cost of getting it wrong is getting higher. Why Africa has become a strategic cybersecurity frontier  Africa’s cyber challenge is not only about the rise in attacks. It is also about timing. The continent is expanding critical digital infrastructure quickly, while many countries are still trying to build the legal, institutional, and human capacity needed to protect it. Interpol says Africa now has more than 500 million internet users, yet many countries still struggle with weak legal frameworks, low investment in cybersecurity, and serious enforcement gaps.  Only a limited number have mature enough systems for reporting incidents, storing digital evidence, or sharing threat intelligence.  That leaves a difficult reality: Africa is becoming more connected and more digital, but many of the defenses needed to secure that space are still under construction. This makes the continent both vulnerable and strategically important. Africa is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital spaces, but also one where cyber resilience is still being shaped.  The challenge is not simply to respond after an attack happens. It is to build systems in which public institutions, regulators, businesses, and national response teams can work together before the next incident arrives. That is part of what gives an event like GITEX Africa its real significance as a convening platform where industry leaders can discuss innovative ways to protect what matters most.  GITEX is putting big ideas into practice  GITEX Africa 2026 is pushing the cybersecurity discussion beyond product displays and technology showcases.  Its Cybersecurity Forum is built around three main pillars: a CISO Leadership Summit, live cyber crisis simulations, and private intelligence exchanges involving regulators.  On its official agenda, GITEX presents cybersecurity as one of Africa’s most urgent priorities, linking it to cybercrime, data sovereignty, AI-based threat detection, and cloud resilience. That approach matters. A continent dealing with cross-border fraud, ransomware, data theft, and infrastructure risk does not only need technology providers. It also needs decision-makers who can align policy, compare experience, test responses, and build trust across institutions.  The crisis simulations matter for that reason. They move cyber from theory into practice. They force participants to think about what happens when systems fail, information is incomplete, and decisions have to be made quickly. The HACKMASTERS initiative takes that idea further. GITEX describes it as a practical international effort that brings together cybersecurity professionals, CERTs, and CIRTs from more than 100 countries.  The aim is to improve readiness, test response capabilities, strengthen cross-border cooperation, and help protect critical infrastructure through real-time exercises and case-based learning. That is not just extra programming around the event. It points to a basic reality: cybercrime moves across borders, and resilience cannot be built in isolation. STAR Summit and the Shift Toward Digital Defense The STAR Summit is one of the main new features at GITEX Africa 2026. Short for Strategic Digital Defence AI Readiness Summit, it is set for April 8 on the main stage and is being organized with Morocco’s DGSSI.  Based on the official program and local coverage, the focus is clear: cyber resilience, protection of critical infrastructure, governance gaps, investment needs, skills shortages, and the growing risks linked to AI.  More broadly, the discussion is about how both governments and companies should deal with more complex and frequent cyber threats.  The list of speakers reflects that direction. It includes Mohamed Al Kuwaiti from the UAE, Divine Selase Agbeti from Ghana’s Cyber Security Authority, David Kanamugire from Rwanda’s National Cyber Security Authority, and Tigist Hamid Mohammed from Ethiopia’s INSA.  The private sector will also be present, with names like Justin Williams from MTN Group and Amit Ghodekar from Aramex. At the same time, the wider exhibition will feature major cybersecurity firms such as Kaspersky, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Forcepoint, Starlink and CyberKnight.  Put together, this shows Marrakech is not just hosting a tech event. GITEX is a place where cyber policy, business interests, and security concerns meet in one space. Where Morocco comes in  Morocco’s role goes beyond hosting. The country continues to position itself as a serious digital hub, but also as a state that can speak about cybersecurity with some credibility.  Its national cybersecurity strategy through 2030 focuses on improving governance, strengthening legal and institutional systems, protecting national infrastructure and investing in skills and resilience.  The aim is to build a digital environment that people and businesses can trust.  There are some real results behind that effort. Morocco scored 97.5 out of 100 in the ITU’s 2024 Global Cybersecurity Index, placing it in Tier 1 – the highest category. That does not mean the country is fully protected from cyber threats. But, it does suggest stronger systems and coordination than in many parts of the region. At the same time, real readiness is not defined by strategies or rankings alone. Rather, it  shows in how systems hold up under pressure, how quickly institutions respond, and whether trust can be maintained when something goes wrong. Morocco’s cyber scare that make the risk a real  In April 2025, Morocco’s primary health insurance platform – CNSS – as well as multiple ministry platforms suffered a serious cyberattack by Algerian hackers dubbed “Jabaroot”. Authorities confirmed that both the social security fund and a ministry website were targeted, while data believed to be linked to CNSS appeared online.  The government called the attack criminal and said the case had been handed to judicial authorities.  CNSS, for its part, said some of the documents being shared were incomplete or altered, and that steps were being taken to strengthen its systems. Reports described the breach as one of the largest of its kind, with sensitive personal and salary data exposed.  The incident made the cyber debate more concrete. It showed that the risks are no longer theoretical and that even key public institutions can be affected.  The incident also shows a gap that often exists between planning for resilience and actually dealing with a crisis when it happens.  For Morocco, the Jabaroot attack reinforced the need to invest more in protection. For other countries in Africa, it served as a reminder of what can happen when digital systems expand faster than the safeguards around them.  What comes next  What happens after GITEX Africa may matter more than the event itself.  The real question is whether the discussions in Marrakech lead to practical steps: better reporting of incidents, more joint response exercises, stronger national teams, clearer rules, more investment in skills, and better protection of critical infrastructure.  Africa already has strong digital momentum. The issue now is whether it can build the capacity to secure it over time.  Cybersecurity stands out at this year’s GITEX because the continent has entered a different stage. Digital tools are no longer being tested at the margins. They are becoming part of how states function, how economies operate, and how public services are delivered.  By hosting the event and placing cyber resilience at the center of the conversation, Morocco is sending a clear message: security is not something to be addressed after the fact. It must be a critical part of the system from the start. Tags: CybersecurityGITEX Africa 2026