The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

Cyber-securityDAILY NATION

Friday May 19, 2017

Private firms risk increased cyber attacks due to the high level of secrecy among them, which slows down the sharing of best practices in case of an attack.

The secrecy hinders sharing of vital information, preventing the implementation of best practices.

Cyber security reporting should be industry-driven as the State Department for ICT has no mandate to force firms to report online crimes.

And even if policies and laws are put in place, not all private sector firms will be willing to share such information.

If people don’t feel confident enough to come out and actually say there has been a cyber crime, then it will be a waste of time.

CYBET ATTACKS

The incidence of cyber attacks is increasing rapidly and methods becoming more creative, hence difficult to deal with.

Those in the financial services sector are especially vulnerable due to their huge reliance on technology to link to one another, financial markets and to other sectors of the economy.

There is a need to invest heavily in security as most firms don’t have the right systems in place to mitigate the risk.

The global cyber security threat called “Ransomware” has, so far, seen over 200,000 computers locked in more than 150 countries.

The attackers demand about Sh30,000 per case in ransom to unlock devices with the payment done in bitcoin.

Still, one can’t be sure the attackers will release the computer after receiving the ransom.

The government should also be on high alert.

OOKO CATHERYNE, Vihiga.

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