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Part 4: Section 3: ICT for Peace and War ; International audience ; Cyber security is an important aspect of National Security and the safekeeping of a Nation's constituency and resources. In South Africa, the focus on cyber security is especially prominent since many geographical regions are incorporated into the global village in an attempt to bridge the digital divide. This article reflects on current research done in South Africa with regard to a cyber security policy, and proposes the development of methodologies and frameworks that will enable the implementation of such a policy. The focus of this article is the use of an ontology-based methodology to identify and propose a formal, encoded description of the cyber security strategic environment. The aim of the ontology is to identify and represent the multi-layered organisation of players and their associated roles and responsibilities within the cyber security environment. This will contribute largely to the development, implementation and rollout of a national cyber security policy in South Africa.

The potential attack surface of a nation is large and no single source of cyber security data provides all the required information to accurately describe the cyber security readiness of a nation. There are a variety of specialised data sources available to assess the state of a nation in key areas such as botnets, spam servers and incorrectly configured hosts. By applying data fusion principles, the potential exists to provide a representative view of all combined data sources. This research will examine a variety of currently available Internet data sources and apply it to an adapted Joint Directors of Laboratories (JDL) data fusion model in order to illustrate the potential gains and current limitations. The JDL model has been adapted to suit national level cyber sensor data fusion with the aim to formally define and reduce data ambiguity and enhance fusion capability in a real world system. A case study highlights the results of applying available open source security information against the model to relate to the current South African cyber landscape.

Part 3: Peace, War, Cyber-Security and ICT ; International audience ; Most communications in the new era are dependent on Information and Communication Technology (ICT). In addition, infrastructure is becoming increasingly interconnected. This not only makes lives easier, but also leaves technology users more vulnerable. Cybercrime, digital espionage and other cyber disturbances dictate the news reports on a daily basis. In general, cyber-attacks are no longer confined to small-scale rogue hackers. Cyber-attacks are now a part of organised crime and the underground economy, posing a real threat to critical infrastructure; possibly with state actors driving these actions. The responsibility to protect ICT stretches beyond individual companies, sectors and even beyond nations. The authors of this paper propose a Cybersecurity Centre Of Innovation (CCOI) as a central point for the South African government, business and academia to create a secure cyber space for the country: a cyber space without crime that is resilient and resistant to disruptions; a cyber space that promotes innovation, helps the economy and enhances national security. The key driver of the proposed CCOI is collaboration; solutions to cyber risks require a combined approach. This paper describes the organisational structure, functions, activities and benefits of a CCOI.

In South Africa, cybersecurity has been identified as a critical component contributing to National Security. More rural communities are becoming integrated into the global village due to increased hardware and software corporate donations, the proliferation of mobile Internet devices and government programmes aimed at bridging the digital divide through major broadband expansion projects. The authors' research shows that many of the new Internet users are not aptly trained to protect themselves against online threats, leaving them vulnerable to online exploits and inherently exposing the national system to potential international cyber attacks. This article works toward the identification of any correlation between the economic development and mobile use propensity of Internet users with regard to National Security. Internet penetration statistics are used in correlation with the economic development and exposure to technological advances of South Africans to classify participants in the surveys used into three groups: urban netizens, semi-rural netizens and rural netizens. South African citizens from areas within the Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces participated in this study. Separate from these criteria, the availability of and access to the Internet via mobile phones is also taken into consideration. The article uses the results from the surveys to identify direct and indirect links between the factors in question.