3CSA addresses DNS abuse in SADC

by MAVHUTO BANDA
LILONGWE – THE Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa (3CSA) is tackling the issue of Domain Name System (DNS) abuse in the region.

This is through a three-day DNS training in Blantyre, Malawi, which kicked off on Wednesday.

Trainees have been empowered on DNS governance, management and resilience to abuse.

“The training aims at providing an understanding of DNS abuse in Southern Africa by raising awareness,” Walence Chigona, C3SA Director, said.

Dr Labani Bagai, a specialist in digital governance and telecommunications policy, cited DNS human rights impact and registration data accuracy as some of the challenges impacting on DNS services.

Other structural susceptibilities include lack of DNS security or cybersecurity skills and competencies, financial resources and dispute resolution mechanisms, according to officials.

DNS abuse refers to the malicious or illegal use of domain names and the DNS protocol, including phishing, malware distribution, botnets, pharming and spam.

These activities, categorised into malicious registrations and compromised domains, exploit internet infrastructure to deceive users and steal data.

Based at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, 3CSA is currently operating in nine countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

– CAJ News