With education on cybercrime, eyes are opened

TANZANIA: FOR your information one of the main cyber-risks is to think they don’t exist. If it’s smart-it’s vulnerable and it takes 20 years to build a reputation and few minutes of cyber incident to ruin it.

Tanzania has witnessed a significant increase in digital platform adoption, leading to a growing reliance on technology for various activities.

This surge in digitalisation has resulted in a parallel rise in cyber threats faced by Tanzanian users. Cybercrime is real and encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks.

These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts and the list continues.

Cybercrime is a growing threat to individuals in the digital age no one should blame on the government, but must be routinely fought.

With the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, individuals are becoming more vulnerable to financial loss, identity theft, emotional trauma, and damage to their reputations.

We must also admit that the effects of cybercrime can be devastating, ranging from financial loss and identity theft for individuals to reputational damage and legal repercussions for businesses.

Additionally, cybercrime can have farreaching consequences for society, from economic impacts to national security concerns and an increase in cyberbullying and harassment.

In modern life, we have heard of cases of phishing (using fake email messages to get personal information from internet users), misusing personal information (identity theft), hacking (shutting down or misusing websites or computer networks) and spreading hate and inciting terrorism among others, which must be fought every day and everyone must come on board to fight.

Most cybercrime is committed by cybercriminals or hackers who want to make money. However, occasionally cybercrime aims to damage computers or networks for reasons other than profit. These could be political or personal.

Cybercrime can be carried out by individuals or organisations. Some cybercriminals are organised, use advanced techniques and are highly technically skilled.

Without causing an alarm, the government right from the grassroots come up with initiatives and policies, which can protect citizens from cybercrime and these, should include establishing cybersecurity standards and regulations for businesses and organisations, providing resources and training for individuals and businesses on cybersecurity best practices.

The list should equally carry onboard investing in research and development of new cybersecurity technologies and tools, enforcing strong penalties for cybercrime and holding perpetrators accountable and sharing threat intelligence and collaborating with international partners to combat cybercrime globally.

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