Cyberattaques et finances publiques : « Le Sénégal doit protéger ses données stratégiques pour préserver sa souveraineté »
Faced with the rise in cyberattacks targeting public institutions, data security is becoming a strategic issue for financial governance. This is certainly the opinion of Dr. Marième Niana Thiam, a lecturer-researcher and senior program coordinator at IBP Senegal. She warns of the risks these attacks pose to the state, particularly in a context marked by the challenges of public debt.
While public finances occupy a central place in the national debate, a new risk is gradually emerging: the digital vulnerability of public institutions.
During a training workshop for journalists, she stressed the need to better understand the issues surrounding debt, while also emphasizing the growing threat of cyberattacks against strategic state structures.
According to the expert, the increase in cyberattacks now constitutes a major challenge for public governance in Senegal. "For some time now, Senegal has been facing a resurgence of cyberattacks. This represents a significant risk, particularly for institutions that manage sensitive data related to public finances and the administration," she explains.
Dr. Thiam emphasizes that certain structures play a crucial role in managing public resources and centralizing administrative data. A security breach in these systems could have serious consequences for government management and public trust.
Strategic sectors particularly exposed
The expert draws particular attention to key institutions such as the services responsible for the Treasury, taxation, and administrative databases. "These structures centralize essential information, whether it be tax revenue or civil status data. A cyberattack targeting these systems could seriously disrupt the functioning of the Administration and weaken public finances," she warns.
Beyond the potential financial losses, these attacks can compromise the country's digital sovereignty and expose strategic information to malicious actors.
Faced with these threats, Dr. Thiam believes that strengthening cybersecurity must become a national priority. "The State of Senegal must invest more in cybersecurity to protect its digital infrastructure and guarantee the security of public data," she insists.
The senior coordinator of the program at IBP Senegal emphasizes that the protection of IT systems is now inseparable from the effective management of public finances, particularly in a context marked by the challenges related to debt and the mobilization of internal resources.
Beyond technological investments, the expert also emphasizes the role of training. "Cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are fields of the future. It is essential to encourage young Senegalese to train in these sectors in order to strengthen the country's capacity to face digital threats," she argues.
The workshop she led also aimed to strengthen journalists' capacity on public finance issues, including domestic debt, external debt and state financing instruments.
According to her, a better understanding of these concepts allows the media to fully play their role as information relays and to contribute to an informed public debate, in a context where transparency and data security are becoming major issues.
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