KAMPALA | CYBER SECURITY | POLICE | PUBLIC VIGILANCE

The Police have called for increased vigilance from the public to help counter the increased threat of cyber insecurity in the country. 

The call comes after the Police revealed that it gets at least one cyberattack a day on its vital digital information systems. 

Yusuf Ssewanyana, the Police’s acting head of Information Communication and Technology, said all ICT departments have been placed under high alert to prevent disruptions in their systems and keep them working. 

"Every day we are seeing that cyberspace is becoming increasingly volatile for criminals to juggle around with," he said. 

Ssewanyana said their systems have become attractive to criminals because of the many databases the Police keep. 

He was speaking during the launch of a cybersecurity training program at ISBAT University in Kampala last week on Wednesday. 

Dubbed Empowering UPF to strengthen their cyber security posture, the program is designed to equip Police IT personnel with the latest cybersecurity techniques, tools, and best practices to help them protect their digital assets, mitigate cyber threats and sustain service delivery to the public. 

The week-long training program is sponsored by ISBAT University as part of the university's contribution to the fight against the problem of cyber insecurity. 

Rising cases 

Cyber insecurity was responsible for a financial loss of sh19.2b to the country according to the 2022 Annual Crimes Report. 

The report said there was a general increase in cyber crimes from 256 cases reported to Police in 2020 to 286 cases reported in 2022, which was a 10.8% increase. 

Some of the victims over the last year have included entities such as National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), MTN, Airtel, and banks after hackers broke into their systems. 

"We are seeing that the cyber-attacks are steadily growing as the economy gets more digitized and more people are getting more skills in terms of the value chain and the day-to-day activities," he said. 

A cyberattack is an assault launched by cybercriminals using one or more computers against single or multiple computers or networks with the malicious aim of disabling computers, stealing data, or using a breached computer as a launch point for other attacks. 

Ssewanyana said efforts are being made to bolster the Police ICT and innovation centre at Kikandwa in Wakiso to ensure that they continue to protect their vital data systems. 

"We are putting up huge projects for the entire country and this is the human resources to which the entire country will rely on to have them up and running. We thank you very much and we have a conviction that with ISBAT with its affiliations, we shall get the best," he said. 

Knowledge gap 

Dr. Pradeep Kumar, the ISBAT university director of studies, noted that the problem is thriving largely because of the dynamism of cyber criminals and the deficiency of knowledge among the public on cyber security. 

He said for actions as simple as opening unsolicited emails criminals can access vital personal details. This is then used to get into one's financial systems such as bank account biodata, resulting in victims losing thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money. 

In some cases, hackers can take charge of one's sensitive personal information via hacks on one's social media account and use it to demand ransom.  

He called on more universities to join the struggle by "providing education to the citizens and government officials so that better security in our ecosystem can be developed." 

Hareesh Kumar, a cyber-security expert with GM Future Technologies, thanked the police for their commitment to protecting the country's digital infrastructure. 

Manzi Kagina, a cyber-security lecturer at the university, said despite their prevalence, cyber-attacks can be avoided if the public can ensure observance of some basic "cyberspace hygiene standards". 

"Avoid clicking links that seem fishy. Rather than getting to websites via links, visit the website yourself," he said.