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As cyber threats grow in sophistication and frequency, African nations are increasingly turning to advanced technologies to safeguard their digital ecosystems. Darktrace and Axis Solutions, a premier technology solutions provider, unveiled their strategic partnership aimed at fortifying Africa’s cyber defences through self-learning Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The event, titled “Defending Africa with Self-Learning AI,” brought together industry leaders, government officials, and cybersecurity experts to explore the evolving threat landscape and demonstrate how Darktrace’s AI technology can autonomously detect and neutralise cyber threats in real time.
By Gamuchirai Mapako
“You need to understand each individual device, what’s connected to the network, what’s malicious and what is not,” said Mr Ross, presenting on Darktrace’s offerings.
“You need to strike a balance between human intervention and AI intervention, you can never replace human…”.
He also explained that AI is only there to make humans more efficient and optimise resources, the element of human touch should always be present.
Opening the event with a look into Zimbabwe’s cybersecurity state, the presentations reflected broader challenges across the continent. Cyberattacks, including ransomware, phishing, and state-sponsored espionage, have surged, targeting critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and government agencies. According to a speaker from Darktrace, traditional security measures, are reliant on predefined rules and signatures, making them no longer sufficient against rapidly adapting adversaries.
At the heart of Darktrace’s offering is its Self-Learning AI, which mimics the human immune system to identify and respond to anomalies in real time. Unlike conventional tools that rely on historical attack data, Darktrace’s AI according to representatives, continuously learns the unique “pattern of life” for every user and device within a network, enabling it to detect subtle deviations indicative of a breach.
The AI identifies emerging threats, including zero-day exploits and insider risks, without prior knowledge of the attack method. Darktrace’s Antigena technology can autonomously take targeted actions, such as slowing down malicious traffic or isolating compromised devices, while allowing normal operations to continue.
With multi-cloud environments and business email compromise (BEC) on the rise, Darktrace’s AI extends protection across hybrid infrastructures.
The partnership between Darktrace and Axis Solutions is particularly significant for Zimbabwe, where cyber resilience is critical for economic growth and national security. Key takeaways from the discussion included:
Zimbabwean organisations face unique challenges, including limited cybersecurity expertise and rapidly digitising economies. Self-learning AI reduces reliance on manual intervention.
With regulations like GDPR and Africa’s Data Protection Acts tightening, AI-driven compliance monitoring helps organisations avoid penalties. Energy, healthcare, and financial sectors are prime targets and autonomous AI provides 24/7 defense without human latency.
Africa must embrace AI-powered cybersecurity to stay ahead of adversaries. Darktrace and Axis Solutions reaffirmed their commitment to supporting African enterprises, governments, and critical sectors with adaptive, self-defending networks.
As cyber warfare escalates globally, partnerships like this mark a pivotal step in securing Africa’s digital future. With self-learning AI, the continent is no longer playing catch-up—it’s pioneering a new era of cyber resilience.
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