Designed specifically for Africa, this toolkit provides a roadmap for establishing and strengthening Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) – essential frontline institutions in our collective cyber defence. It offers hands-on guidance, operational tools and policy templates that will help governments, institutions and technical communities across the region prevent, detect and respond to cyber threats with greater confidence and coordination.
The Commonwealth Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) Toolkit for Africa, developed by the Commonwealth Africa Cyber Fellowship (CACF), is a strategic and operational resource designed to enhance cybersecurity resilience across Commonwealth nations, with a focus on contextual challenges and opportunities within the Africa region. Developed by cyber experts under the Commonwealth Africa Cyber Fellowship, the Toolkit addresses the increasing complexity and scale of cyber threats impacting economies and societies across the Commonwealth.
As member nations continue to experience rapid digital transformation – driven by increased mobile connectivity, digital services and financial inclusion – cybersecurity risks have become more prevalent. The CERTs Toolkit offers a practical, scalable and adaptable framework to support governments, organisations and cybersecurity practitioners in establishing, strengthening and sustaining CERTs.
The CERTs Toolkit:
- supports the creation and operationalisation of CERTs, particularly in resource-constrained environments
- offers policy templates, incident response frameworks, communication protocols, training modules and assessment tools tailored to the diverse contexts of Commonwealth nations
- promotes cross-border collaboration, regional intelligence sharing and co-ordinated cyber incident response
- aligns with global cybersecurity best practices and Commonwealth priorities, including the Commonwealth Cyber Declaration.
Its key objectives are as follows.
- Enhance cyber resilience across national and sectoral levels.
- Facilitate the structured establishment and capability development of CERTs.
- Address the cybersecurity skills gap through capacity building and knowledge transfer.
- Foster intergovernmental and cross-sectoral co-operation; and
- Support national cybersecurity policy development and sustainable planning.
