THE government has urged private sector to train more ethical hackers in efforts to combat criminal hackers in the country.
An ethical hacker, also known as a 'white hat hacker', is employed to legally break into computers and networks to test an organization's overall security.
Ethical hackers possess all the skills of a cyber-criminal but use their knowledge to improve organizations rather than exploit and damage them.
Deputy Minister for Information, Communication and Information Technology, Eng Kundo Mathew, said Tanzania needs more ethical hackers considering its geographical location.
Eng Mathew made the plea in Dar es Salaam at the 9th Tanzania Internet Governance Forum 2022 which was aimed at creating awareness on the better use of the internet in the country.
"Due to our geographical location we need more hackers who will protect us from cybercriminals to keep our country safe," said Eng Mathew.
He also noted that the ethical hackers could take advantage of the available opportunities in the cyber security issues since the government has increased its budget from 8bn/- to 200bn/- for the Ministry of Information, Communication and Information Technology.
Eng Mathew said due to the budget increase in this financial year, it makes Tanzania an ICT hub in East and central Africa.
"With that budget, the government looks forward to optimizing opportunities so that other countries could come and learn from us," said Eng Mathew.
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He also said the government will continue to cooperate with the private sector and different forums in bringing development to the country through ICT.
On his side, Dr Seleman Arthur, senior official from the ministry said Tanzanians should adhere to laws on cybercrimes.
Dr Arthur warned all cyber criminals and urged them to stop such criminal conducts which put the nation's economy at risk
On his part, Internet Society Tanzania Chapter president, Mr Nazar Nicolas, said the Tanzania Internet Governance Forum (TIGF) has been organizing the forums in order to educate the community on the proper use of the internet and look at various internet opportunities.
Mr Nicolas said through the discussions IGF believes that the stakeholders will be educated about the right use of the internet and how utilize the opportunities.
