Kaspersky opens Transparency Centre in Kigali

Kaspersky has announced the opening of its first Transparency Centre on the African continent in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Centre is part of Kaspersky’s Global Transparency Initiative, and offers visitors a comprehensive overview of Kaspersky’s engineering and data processing practices, and a live demonstration of the source code for its products and services. The announcement was made during this week’s Africa Cyber Defense Forum (ACDF) in Kigali.

Internet penetration in the African region has been steadily increasing over the years: according to the World Bank, broadband Internet access in Africa grew from 26% in 2019 to 36% in 2022. As outlined in the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy, all people in Africa should be digitally empowered by 2030, which means that digitalisation will be enhancing, bringing both opportunities and challenges.

The new Transparency Center in Kigali is available for Kaspersky’s partners, customers, and regulators responsible for cybersecurity. It is designed to serve the “blue piste” review option, which has gained significant popularity among Transparency Centers’ visitors since the opening of the first facility in 2018.

Underscoring the strong nexus between transparency and the fight against cybercrime, and Kaspersky’s commitment to both causes, the new Transparency Center opening was welcomed by the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL):  

_{Daas Omar, Senior cybercrime officer at AfriPol and Genie Sugene Gan, Kaspersky head of government affairs and public policy for Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions}

“The African region is currently undergoing rapid digital transformation, with Internet penetration continually growing year on year,” says AfriPol acting executive director Jalel Chelba, “To counter potential security risks stemming from the use of technology, it is imperative to understand what forms an effective framework to mitigate risks.

“As Kaspersky announces the opening of its first Transparency Center in the African region, we appreciate the company’s openness and welcome its Global Transparency Initiative, which is exemplary for organisations in the region in terms of building digital trust. Kaspersky has a proven track record of collaborating with local, regional and international law enforcement agencies to combat cybercrime, sharing its technical expertise, in the spirit of transparency.”

With the opening of the facility in the region, Kaspersky will expand its network to encompass a total of 11 Transparency Centers located across Europe, Asia-Pacific, North and Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

Genie Sugene Gan, Kaspersky head of government affairs and public policy for Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East, Turkey and Africa regions, said during her keynote speech at the ACDF: “A growing emphasis on cybersecurity within the pan-regional African agenda is piquing the interest of national authorities. However, there remains a significant gap in cyber-capacity building. 

“By opening the Transparency Center, Kaspersky aims to address the local market needs, offering education in such critical areas as evaluating product security and establishing secure development processes. The Transparency Center opening marks a pivotal advancement and a significant milestone for both our organisation and the region, as we bring essential capacity-building capabilities and best cybersecurity practices to the region.”

Kaspersky launched its Global Transparency Initiative in 2017, becoming a pioneer in advancing digital trust. It says the initiative reaffirms the company’s readiness to disclose how Kaspersky works, what standards it implements, how its solutions perform and why they are trustworthy. Kaspersky actively involves the broader community in validating and verifying the reliability of its products, internal processes, and overall business operations. The company is the first cybersecurity vendor to disclose its source code for external review.

To learn more about the Global Transparency Initiative, visit the website.