The Clean Energy Transition and Cybersecurity in Africa

The clean energy transition (CET) and cybersecurity respectively foster the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 (accessible clean energy for all) and SDG 13 (ensuring climate action against climate change) and SDG 9 (ensuring cybersecurity). The African Union (AU) and all its Member States have endorsed these global goals. As Africa has huge renewable energy resources, African countries are uniquely placed to gain from the CET and climate action to combat climate change. This is possible if reasonable steps are taken by relevant stakeholders to achieve the global goals. However, Africa is equally vulnerable to the several cybersecurity challenges that bedevil the CET. While African countries are deploying innovative technologies of renewable energy, they are also in the process of establishing different levels of new attack surfaces for use by cybercriminals. Some of the cybersecurity challenges that threaten the achievement of CET include data security, infrastructure security, and supply chain security. This chapter makes novel contribution to energy transition discourse by providing germane perspectives with which relevant stakeholders in Africa such as policymakers and enforcement authorities can use to develop a regulatory and legal framework that harnesses cybersecurity in the sustainable energy ecosystem of Africa. Such a framework is critical to sustainably protect energy ecosystem from cyber threats in Africa.