The government of Zimbabwe has developed a secure video conferencing and messaging software to evade hackers. This development follows the recent glitch during the Meteorological Services Department event on the National Climate Outlook Forum.
The government developed its secure application called the Public Finance Management System (PFMS). It is currently used by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. TrueConf, a software for secure video conferencing tool has been embedded on the PFMS for video conferencing and messaging.
“We are working on a video conferencing and messaging app, and we are testing the system,” – Engr Sam Kundishora, the Permanent Secretary for Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services.
The COVID-19 pandemic has given room to more virtual communication. There is a high demand for secure technology solutions in both the private and public sectors. The hacking incident further revealed the need for a more secure application. It demonstrated that holding high-level meetings on Zoom could be prone to malicious activities. Engr Kundishora further stated that using a locally controlled system will retain privacy and control of all virtual government meetings.
According to him, Zoom is hosted and managed outside Zimbabwe. When notices to host meetings are distributed, they might end up in the wrong hands who might use such to get access to protected information.
Furthermore, the Permanent Secretary for Environment, Climate, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry called for the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill to be passed into law. He suggests that it will stop hackers from poke nosing on government activities online.