The Computer Society of Kenya

Since 1986

Cyber-securityDAILY NATION By TRYRUS KAMAU

Friday July 31, 2015

In 2003, Richard Thieme, a priest-turned-technology-and-culture-commentator, defined a hacker as one who sees windows and doors where others see walls. His definition attempted to provide a mental picture of a hacker, where others simply described these people as “clever programmers”.

I describe hackers as people who have the power to build and break the everyday infrastructure you and I rely upon to communicate and store information. Certain elements of hacking have been around longer than the computer has been, but hacking remains a play on human weaknesses.

The last ten years have seen the exponential growth of technology in the country, with Kenya arguably leading emerging African economies in the race to embrace technology, and do so well. From the widespread use of feature phones to carry out mobile money transactions to the use of smartphones and mobile apps to access the Internet, Kenya today leads the way in creating a space for innovation to thrive and tapping the use of technology to transform the lives of citizens across social, economic and geographic divides.

DEMYSTIFYING CYBER CRIME

But the opportunities that come with this embrace of ICT also bring with them threats previously unthought-of. While access to technology becomes an economic driver if utilised well, we cannot ignore the importance of controlling who accesses what technology, and how.

To the non-tech-savvy among us, this is undoubtedly a really boring subject, but spare a moment to consider just how exposed you are if using a mobile phone, computer, tablet or operating a bank account. How often do you think about exposure to cyber-crime when using your social media accounts, or something as basic as email?

Estimates indicate that, in 2014 alone, the financial industry suffered nearly Sh2 billion in losses through cybercrime, and close to 1,000 Kenyans are being defrauded on the Internet daily. We also have the more common fraud incidences revolving around mobile money transactions, carried out largely by prisoners with contraband mobile phones and others facilitated by rogue employees of service providers and agents.

And then there are the opportunities we create for identity theft, another form of cybercrime. Do you think about the possibility of exposing yourself to identity theft each time you leave your ID, or write down your name, ID and telephone number in a sign-in book at the reception before gaining access into a building?

And this is just the tip of the iceberg, since not all institutions or individuals report cases of cybercrime for fear of eroding confidence in their brands. These crimes then form a foundation for criminal activities to thrive, oftentimes becoming difficult to track down since the evidence presented in our courts is barely understood by lawmakers.

What is the effect? Very few criminals are actually charged with cybercrime, and even fewer are sentenced, because cybercrime is still a grey area in our justice system.

This is why we will be holding the second edition of the AfricaHackOn Conference, in Nairobi. Through this one-day event we intend to inspire more conversation on cyber-crime, demystify it and create an understanding of what it is and how to prevent it.

The increase in access to technology has created a growing community of brilliant minds capable of seeing the so-called doors and windows, and we see the need to mentor them and work with them for good before they are sucked into the vortex of cyber-crime.

BLACK AND WHITE HATS

We want to nurture and develop “white hats” — hackers who do so to identify weak spots and create security solutions — before they turn into “black hats” — hackers who do so with malicious intent.

In 2012 the Government acknowledged the threat that cyber (in)security poses to Kenya and developed the National Cyber Security Masterplan, a framework around the country’s online assets, as well as regulation to back it up. We haven’t heard much on its implementation since it was launched.

The truth is that we are yet to build adequate capacity to tackle cybercrime. Years of conferences in expensive hotels have only resulted in business card exchanges as opposed to tangible impact.  Case in point: very few Kenyans know about the Kenya Cyber Incidents and Response Team (KE- CIRT) launched by the Communications Authority two years ago to tackle computer crime.

And this is what makes the AfricaHackOn Conference timely. We believe that bringing together young men and women who have grown up with computers, those who truly understand the power of the Internet, may just open our eyes to how much more needs to be done and maybe, just maybe, scratch the surface of possibilities that a secure Internet space could offer for the continued technological advancement of our country.

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