In a landmark collaboration with the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), global cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has equipped around 40 law enforcement officers from 23 African countries with vital skills in Security Operations Centre (SOC) operations and advanced threat hunting techniques.
Kaspersky
The training programme, which ran from November 2025 to March 2026, forms part of a 2024 cooperation agreement between Kaspersky and AFRIPOL aimed at bolstering Africa’s fight against escalating cyberthreats.
Participants delved into practical aspects of cyber-defence, including detecting malicious activities on Windows and Linux systems, dissecting attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), and leveraging threat intelligence to expose sophisticated digital threats.
Interactive online Q&A sessions with Kaspersky’s Security Services experts enriched the experience, allowing officers to tackle real-world cases, clarify complexities, and deepen their grasp of cybersecurity fundamentals.
“Cybercrime is sophisticated, borderless, and ever-evolving—no single entity can combat it alone. Our partnership with AFRIPOL underscores the power of knowledge-sharing between private cybersecurity firms and law enforcement,” stated Yuliya Shlychkova, Kaspersky’s Vice President for Public Affairs.
She highlighted years of joint efforts to map Africa’s cyberthreat landscape and disrupt criminal networks.
Dr Mohammed Benaired, Head of AFRIPOL’s Training and Capacity Building Division, echoed this sentiment: “Such initiatives arm officers with hands-on skills to probe cyber incidents, analyse digital evidence, and counter emerging threats. We cherish Kaspersky’s role in keeping our agencies ahead of threat trends.”
The five-year pact, signed in 2024, promotes threat intelligence sharing, expertise exchange, and cybercrime prevention across the continent.
Kaspersky’s Expert Training platform has now reached over 3,000 specialists from 50 countries, offering 12 courses on topics like reverse engineering, incident response, and threat hunting tailored to varying expertise levels.
As cyberthreats surge in scale and sophistication, this initiative underscores the urgent need for African law enforcement to build robust digital defences, fostering safer online spaces for citizens and businesses alike.
