Think before you click

Tom Muleya
Fraud Insight

The Government declared the whole month of November as the National Cyber Security Awareness Month and the campaign is running under the theme: “Think before You Click”.

The objectives of the national awareness amongst others are; to promote online security and safety, to cultivate a cyber security culture among internet stakeholders, and to unlock new opportunities for cyber security collaboration and information sharing.

The commitment of the Government on this cause is an indication that cyber threat is a living reality among us as the usage of latest technologies increases both among individuals and the corporate world. In honour of Government initiative, Fraud Insight as a crime awareness column will be covering issues on cyber challenges during this month.

From a global perspective, the US hearing on cyber threats in 2016 indicated that 2014 was a banner year for cyber criminals.

In January 2014: target hacked, 70 million people impacted; Neiman-Marcus hacked, 350 000 impacted; Michaels retail Store hacked, 2,6 million customers impacted; Yahoo! hacked, 273 million users impacted

In September 2014: Home Deport hacked, 56 million shoppers impacted; Google hacked, 5 million people impacted etc. According to the report, in 2014, the annual average cost per company of successful cyber attacks increased to 20,8 million in the financial services industry, 14,5 million in the technology sector, and 12,7 million in the communications industry.

The report was meant to review or better understand the global threat and ultimately formulate more effective responses to cyber incidents.

From an African continent perspective, the Cybercrime; Cyber Security Trends in Africa Report (November 2016) indicated that 8,8 million South Africans were victims of online crime in the past year. It also indicated that African continent’s economy has moved online and that Africa was leading the world in money transfers using mobile phones with 14 percent of all Africans receiving money through mobile transfers.

The cyber landscape has vastly changed over years, with technology now becoming an integral component of nearly all transactions, means of communication, and methods of transportation.

Cyber criminals are no longer focusing on attacking the State and critical infrastructure of countries such as banks, power grids, and food supplies only, but now threats are directed to citizens of individual States.

In the Zimbabwean context, cybercrime is widely acknowledged as a serious challenge posing danger to the State, corporate, and general public or citizens. In 2017, the Chronicle Newspaper indicated that the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), and Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) had allegedly suffered cyber attacks with hackers demanding more than $6 billion to restore information to their websites. The cyber attackers had hacked into the institutions’ websites and took temporary control of servers hosting websites and emails.

The national cyber security awareness campaign is a noble call for every Zimbabwean to think and act responsibly when interacting with the internet or cyber space to minimise incidents of crime. Remember, just one wrong click may cost an individual, corporate and nation huge losses.

Get empowered by Fraud insight and be part of a solution to cyber threats. Watch out for the next issue.

For your feedback,WhatsApp line:0772 764 043, or e-mail: [email protected]. Tom

Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the Criminal Investigations Department, Harare.