With the recent landing of two undersea fibre optic cables, internet connectivity is expected to be cheaper and faster. Photo/FILE
The arrival of fibre optic cables to the region has thrown the ICT sector into a frenzy with experts seeking ways to mitigate against the increased security risks likely to arise from high speed Internet connection.
A flurry of activity in the sector points to last-ditch efforts by industry players to seal loopholes that international hackers may use to penetrate local information systems.
Next week alone, two separate workshops have been organised in Nairobi targeting handlers of ICT infrastructure in the East and Southern Africa during which experts hope to brainstorm about the challenges they are likely to face as a result of joining information super highway.
The organisers of Secure ICT 2009, to be held in Nairobi between Tuesday and Wednesday, say they anticipate a convergence of security experts, information technology and communication professionals to share the latest information on cyber security threats, trends, tools and strategies for protection of critical information technology and communications assets.
“Being wired to the rest of the world means we are now within the perimeter of cyber crime, making the region’s information systems more vulnerable than ever before,” said Mr Evans Kahuthu, a chief technologist at Comtech, a Nairobi-based computer solutions firm.
The information ministry and a number of key stakeholders have organised another three-day security awareness forum called the East Africa Internet Governance Forum (EAIGF) scheduled to take place from Monday and Wednesday next week.
Organisers say delegates will be drawn from the East African Community countries and will benefit from the experience of experts drawn from Japan, USA, UK and Canada where fast-paced Internet solutions took root years ago.
EAIGF organisers hope to delve deeper into areas such as the Internet user and consumer protection; access to broadband; cyber trust and piracy; and the regulatory issues.
Sectors that are likely to be affected by security issues related to faster Internet access include the banking sector.
Industry statistics show that 60 per cent of local banks do not have adequate security safeguards against online fraudsters and are regarded as high risk targets of identity theft and cybercrime.
Illegal access
Other business solutions at risk includes credit cards, mobile banking, mobile phone-based money transfers, automated stock trading, and debit cards used in automated teller machines.
Hackers are generally shrewd individuals with skills to gain illegal access to restricted data which they can then use to commit crime or to transact unauthorised businesses.
They may range from ordinary conmen seeking to make quick financial gains to sophisticated terrorists promoting their sectarian causes.
“The expected outcome of this forum will be a framework that ushers the region into the digital economy that will also constitute the negotiating platform during the fourth UN Internet forum to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in November, the African Information Society Conference in January next year and the 37th internet Corporation Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting to be held in Nairobi next March,” reads a statement by the event’s organisers.
By definition, information security is the protection of information and its critical elements, including the systems and hardware that use, store and transmit that information.
The aim is to forestall risks like financial and identity thefts, phishing, piracy and cyberterrorism which can now be executed in the region very easily due to high speed internet access.
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