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Smart Africa Sets the Standard: 

Why Every Business Must Combat AI and Surveillance Threats

By Rex M. Lee

Security Advisor, My Smart Privacy

10.20.25

Recently, I traveled to Rabat, Morocco, to speak at the 2025 Regional Cybersecurity Week Summit on behalf of Smart Africa. 

I delivered a security session to ministers and delegates from over 40 Smart Africa member nations, including several from the European Union. 

The session, titled “Adopting a Top-Down Security Strategy,” addressed the same critical threats and solutions that businesses and enterprises worldwide must now confront.

Smart Africa’s proactive approach serves as a model for governments, enterprises, and organizations worldwide. Their leadership recognizes that digital sovereignty, privacy, and national security depend on adopting a top-down security framework—one that begins with executive oversight and cascades through every layer of governance, technology, and operations.

The same principle applies to the private sector. Whether you operate a global enterprise, manage critical infrastructure, or run a data-driven business, the threats are the same—and growing:

✅ Digital Colonialism & Internet Centralization – Overreliance on monopolized cloud and OS platforms exposes organizations to systemic surveillance and data mining.
✅Surveillance Capitalism & AI Exploitation – Commercial AI systems harvest user and business data through operating systems, apps, and chatbots.
✅Addictive, Manipulative Technologies – AI-infused apps and social media platforms can undermine employee focus, productivity, and mental health.
✅Tech-Based Hybrid Warfare – Adversarial actors exploit technology, misinformation, and infrastructure dependencies to destabilize economies and organizations.
✅Quantum and AI Threats – Emerging technologies challenge traditional encryption and data protection methods.

A Top-Down Security Strategy is the only sustainable solution. It ensures that data protection, compliance, and resilience are not isolated IT functions but executive priorities woven into every aspect of business governance.

Core pillars of this approach include:

• Private LTE (pLTE) for secure, end-to-end connectivity and control
• AI governance frameworks to ensure transparency and accountability
• Hybrid security environments (e.g., Linux-based systems) to reduce dependency on vulnerable platforms like Android, iOS, and Windows
• Policy alignment with emerging global standards such as the Electronic Bill of Rights, emphasizing privacy, safety, and digital sovereignty

As Smart Africa and EU member nations advance toward secure digital transformation, it’s time for enterprises to follow suit. Cybersecurity, privacy, and data sovereignty must become boardroom-level discussions, not afterthoughts delegated to IT departments.

The organizations that act now—adopting a top-down strategy built on transparency, resilience, and ethical technology governance—will define the future of digital trust in the connected age.

About the Author 

Rex M. Lee holds Wireless Industry and Application Development Experience (35 years)/Freelance Technology Journalist/Privacy and Data Security Consultant/Blackops Partners Analyst and Researcher/Public Speaker- For More Information Visit My Smart Privacy at: www.MySmartPrivacy.com

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