UNITED CyberSafe’s #NoGoFallMaga project helps raise cybersecurity awareness among small businesses
from fake ‘Black Friday Sale’ offers and Netflix billing, to emails offering American or Canadian work visas. Events and ongoing mentorship also feature in the CyberSafe Foundation’s line-up. The CyberGirls initiative helps equip young women aged 15-21 with cybersecurity skills, preparing them for job opportunities, both inside Nigeria and internationally. Monthly meet-ups, built around projects, help participants build technical and business savvy. “We’ve seen that cybersecurity is not just a way to protect businesses; it can be a tool for individual growth. When girls gain high-demand software skills like cybersecurity, they can access work to bring them out of poverty. We’ve seen girls whose parents wouldn’t bet on them in terms of investing in their education, who now have a motivation and means to negotiate cultural barriers standing in their way. “One, who was living in a semi-rural part of the country, got the opportunity because her auntie who lives in the city saw CyberGirls. She moved to this urban environment with no digital skills, and now understands attack vectors and is doing threat modelling as we speak! Girls just want to learn. And if given the opportunities, they will learn.” INTERCONNECTED WORLD Prevention is the most important weapon against cybercrime. And when a business has little resource to deal with the fallout of a cyberattack, prevention, training and best practices become even more vital. Threat awareness is a key part of education. In addition to social engineering attacks, Africa joins the rest of the world in poor password practice. Staveley is aware that misconfiguration of cloud services has been a major vulnerability. But the digital world is interconnected – a cyberattack on infrastructure in another part of the world can have
WE HAVE FOUND THAT SMALL BUSINESSES DON’T HAVE THE PEOPLE, THE PROCESSES OR THE TECHNOLOGY TO FULLY PROTECT THEMSELVES
repercussions everywhere. This summer ’s ransomware incident with US software company Kaseya affected businesses across Africa, including major banks. As a result, CyberSafe Foundation is partnering with many entities, including the UK government and organisations supporting Nigerian business. “The introduction of technology in every sphere of our lives means these attacks filter down to Africa.” So, it seems, education is more crucial than ever.
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