[kictanet] Kenya IGF 2011 Policy Discussions Day 5 Cyber Security and Privacy

[Paul M]

Cyber security affects anyone who plausibly has data stored on some device
either remotely or locally e.g. on a smartphone.

The breadth and scope of cyber security threats is quite formidable and
these threats become more stealthy and nefarious everyday. This is a
universal problem not limited to developed countries.

In Kenya, more bandwidth and faster internet has seen a mushrooming of
malware, phishing attacks and online fraud. Besides the recent defacement of
the Kenya Police website, I have personally come across several other
government websites infested with malware with the attackers gaining full
access to the compromised host servers.

The problem I think is not just sensitization. A lot is talked about cyber
security in the media, in seminars, blogs, social networks etc, but very
little is done besides obtaining the latest anti-virus and downloading
patches (for those who do so). This action alone is very insufficient as
some malware is known to cripple and disable even the latest 'bug-proof'
anti-virus.

Cyber security specialists; penetration testers,firewall experts,
cryptographers, white-hat hackers and the professionals that could be on the
vanguard of defense are quite a rare and a precious 'breed' in Kenya. Wasn't
it high time more could be done by the government and private sector to
train specialists in the wide field of cyber security? We need more cyber
security professionals in this country.

In addition, having hacking conferences like out own version of DEFCON where
hackers, government officials, security professionals and other interested
stakeholders can assemble and see for themselves how real time security
vulnerabilities can be exploited and  either benign or malicious attacks are
carried out on the victim. These informal conferences can go a long way in
sensitizing and coming up with best practices with regards to cyber
security.

Talking of cyber security, this article may also interest you: In June, the
Pentagon drafted a cyber warfare policy in which it reserves to use military
force against states or agents that target critical US computer and network
infrastructure http://rt.com/usa/news/pentagon-cyber-military-computer/
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