In the late 1990s, the pioneers of Internet connection in Africa were connected using geostationary satellites. Only a handful of privileged people were able to access the Internet. Twenty years later, all the countries of the continent are connected to the global network by submarine or terrestrial cable,satellites, and even using drones or balloons. satellites and even using drones or balloons. 25% of the African population in South Sahara has permanent access to the Internet, compared to 60% of the population in North Africa, for a world average of only 50.8% of the population connected to the Internet. We note that 37 African countries have set up a universal access fund to expand national Internet coverage, which has enabled the African continent to have one of the highest connectivity growth rates in the world. However, as with any new emerging technology, the development of the Internet has also led to an increase in cybercrime. Cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crimes now concern all sectors of activity, with new trends of collaboration between traditional crimes and cybercrime. For example, terrorist groups may use the services of cybercriminals to raise funds using cryptocurrencies. Human trafficking criminal networks are exploring the dark web to gain expertise in designing fake travel documents… This new reality of organized crime makes it impossible to dissociate the fight against cybercrime from the fight against all other forms of crime.The second alarming fact is that two years after the COVID-19 pandemic,the aftermath is still being felt on the African continent, the aftermath is still being felt on the African continent, especially with the job losses that have destroyed certain sectors such as hospitality, tourism and aviation. . At the same time, working methods have also evolved since COVID-19; some employees have developed a taste for remote work, which opens a door for attacks like fishing and BEC.

The global awareness of the threats of cybercrime is very real on the African continent. Many initiatives, such as awareness campaigns, regional and continental conferences, bootcamps and capacity building programs have multiplied in recent years. It is within the framework of this response policy against cybercrime that AFRIPOL organized, from September 21 to 23, 2022, the first session of the AFRIPOL Bootcamp in Cybercrime Investigation: Phishing, Malware, OSINT, Darknet, and Cryptocurrencies. This first session recorded a total of 136 participants from 22 countries.

In order to build the capacity of police officers in African countries and to help purchase appropriate devices and equipment to tackle cybercrime, AFRIPOL established cooperation with international organizations, including INTERPOL, through the Interpol Support Program for the African Union (ISPA), as well as with other police organizations, like the German Federal Police and national and regional organizations. 2022 has been a particularly fruitful year in this collaboration, with the realization of many projects: the Africa Cyber Surge, the purchase of digital triage SPEKTOR devices, the training of seven countries, the purchase of many CHAINALYSIS licenses and the training of beneficiary countries, and the purchase of CYBERBELT Tools licenses and the training of beneficiary countries.