Cybersecurity Takes Centre Stage in South Africa’s New National Security Strategy

In a landmark move towards enhanced transparency and national resilience, Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni today formally released the public versions of South Africa’s National Security Strategy (NSS) 2024–2029, and the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 2019–2024, along with its National Intelligence Priorities (NIPs). This historic release, the first of its kind for the Republic, marks a significant paradigm shift in how the intelligence community engages with the state, Parliament, and the public, with a strong emphasis on addressing modern digital threats.

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 2019–2024 offers a comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of the strategic challenges and opportunities facing the nation. It is a collaborative effort from across the national intelligence community and strategic partners, designed to ensure that South Africa’s response to complex security issues is informed, proactive, and coordinated. Among the critical threats identified are cyber threats, alongside illegal migration, espionage, transnational organized crime, climate security, and domestic instability.

Within the detailed 2019–2024 National Intelligence Priorities (NIPs), several key directives specifically bolster South Africa’s cybersecurity posture:

• Bolster cyber forensic capability to effectively address and regulate online technologies and crypto-currencies that are exploited to facilitate Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs).
• Adjust South Africa’s cybersecurity posture to accommodate counter-intelligence and protective security at its core.
• Address cybersecurity vulnerabilities at organs of State, including in procurement, supply chain management, and reliance on foreign-based companies within national security domains.

These priorities underscore a proactive approach to safeguarding the nation’s digital infrastructure and financial systems from sophisticated cyber-attacks and illicit activities.

Further emphasizing this commitment, the newly endorsed National Security Strategy (NSS) 2024–2029 includes Pillar 5: Protection of cyberspace and the environment. This pillar explicitly aims at strengthening the sovereignty of the RSA in the information space. Its objectives include enhancing risk awareness among national stakeholders, encouraging them to assume greater responsibility for their cybersecurity, and building the necessary capabilities to defend against digital intrusions.

 “Today marks a historic milestone in our democratic journey, one which speaks directly to the principles of national security, constitutional accountability, transparency, and national resilience as enshrined in our Section 198 of the Constitution. This is the first time in the history of the Republic of South Africa that such instruments of national intelligence are being released in a manner that is both transparent and structured, while maintaining the required integrity for national security. It is not only a profound step forward, but a clear paradigm shift in how the intelligence community relates to the state, to Parliament, and to the people.”

–Minister Ntshavheni, Minister in the Presidency (responsible for National Security), South Africa. 

The release of the NIE, NIPs, and NSS is presented not merely as compliance with past directives but as “a deliberate act of democratic renewal.” It signifies a commitment to building “a modern, ethical, and professional intelligence capability, guided by law, oversight, and strategic foresight.” In a world characterized by “rapidly evolving threats, hybrid warfare, misinformation, climate-induced instability, and shifting geopolitical dynamics,” South Africa’s national security response is poised to be “anticipatory, inclusive, and adaptive.”

 “Let history reflect that we chose transparency over secrecy, service over self-interest, and reform over inertia. Let us now work together to protect and advance our democratic gains through intelligence that is principled, professional, and people-centred.”

–Minister Ntshavheni, Minister in the Presidency (responsible for National Security), South Africa.