Cyber awareness initiatives in South Africa

1. Cyber awareness initiatives in South Africa A national perspective

2. Introduction and layout • Some of the current national cyber security awareness initiatives in South Africa • Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) • University of Fort Hare (UFH) • Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) • University of Pretoria (UP) • Initiatives cover secondary school pupils, tertiary level students, public and private sector enterprises, and senior citizens • Future of cyber security awareness

3. Background • Cyber space is a complex environment that can advance individuals’ experience of electronic dependent activities • facilitates online communication, electronic capability development and information sharing • BUT can also place these individuals in a vulnerable state • Inherent dangers that can rob users from their identity and money • Cyber awareness and cyber security need to be addressed

4. The need for cyber security initiatives • Daily international news events • Increase in phishing attacks (SABRIC) • Warning against online scams (SARS) • Increase use of sporting events as hook (Symantec) • Research done by local institutes show that South African communities are not empowered to deal with cyber threats Crucial that security initiatives are undertaken to educate cyber space users

5. CSIRcyber awareness initiatives • Assist rural communities in adapting to opportunities presented by technology • focus on educating beginner internet and technology users • “self-defence course for internet users” • Target audience:

6. CSIRcyber awareness initiatives • Project progress • pilot project phase in September – November 2010 • 40 students have been trained as trainers • >120 people in the Vhembe district have been trained • Some of the findings • most children would not arrange a meeting with a online friend they have not met before • community centre participants would advise their children to meet online friends in places other than chatting rooms • 44% were prepared to submit personal details to a popular website

7. CSIRcyber awareness initiatives • Cyber crime is a reality • often targets uneducated individuals that do not know how to identify cyber scams or protect their computers • The next step • roll out of training material to larger groups of the community • interactive wiki as communication medium • translation of all modules into at least four of the South African national languages • production of prototype board games and online games

8. UFH cyber awareness initiatives • Information security competency test: 50 1st year and 50 3rd year BCom undergraduate students • test students' personal information security competency level • need to understand how many students act on, and implement, what they have been taught with regard to information security • Online questionnaire consisting of 19 questions measuring both awareness and competency • 4 point Likert Scale or to choose the correct answer

9. UFH cyber awareness initiatives • Some of the findings: 1st year students • many have limited knowledge of information security principles and terminology • 28% correctly identified the social engineering definition • 12% are competent in identifying/addressing social engineering problems • many students indicated that they never change their passwords once set up • Some of the findings: 3rd year students • many are familiar with information security principles and terminology • scored unacceptably low on the competency questions • 84% correctly identified the social engineering definition • 28% are competent in identifying/addressing social engineering problems

10. UFH cyber awareness initiatives • Current awareness initiative • PowerPoint based lecture, textbook chapters and notes • The next step • extension of questionnaire • increase the number of respondents • hands-on practical sessions • enforceable controls by the technical support services An effective awareness programme need more than posters on the walls and popup windows displaying the organisation’s security policy

11. NMMU cyber awareness initiatives • Addresses all aspects of information security management, including information security awareness • Focus on post graduate studies, producing various products and systems as a result, e.g. • education by means of gaming • cyber security portal • formal short learning program (SLP) to provide basic education to general company end-users

12. NMMU cyber awareness initiatives • Some of the findings - survey amongst 1592 schoolchildren in the Nelson Mandela Bay area: • 5.8% spend more than 4 hrs/day on the Internet • 37% use the Internet in their bedrooms • 63% do not have to ask permission before accessing it • >54% are not supervised when using the Internet • 90% use social networking sites (67% access these sites daily) • 36% have experienced some form of cyber bullying (almost half did not report the incidences) • 40% had met someone in the real world to whom they have only chatted to online

13. NMMU cyber awareness initiatives • Success stories • educational programme to be rolled out to schools - guidance research for children in South African urban areas • project to introduce and assist the aged in utilizing Internet related services has been running very successfully for the past 2 years • facial recognition – eliminates need for usernames/passwords

14. UP cyber awareness initiatives • All students registered at the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology must complete a community-based project as an official course • 40 hours in class lectures • 40 hours of field work in an existing or newly proposed community-based project

15. UP cyber awareness initiatives • PumaScope are mainly offered to rural schools in the Mpumalanga Province of South Africa • launched in 2003 • focuses on the transfer of knowledge in the areas of Computer Science, including basic computer literacy and cyber awareness • Department of Education identifies needy schools • official permission from the provincial government • Target audience can be divided into three main groups: senior high-school learners (grades 10 to 12), teachers and community members

16. UP cyber awareness initiatives • >70 schools and >2100 learners, teachers and community members have benefited • Project sustainability: long term relationship is built with the school or institution by establishing a computer club • The way forward • expand to more provinces in South Africa and, eventually, into Africa • need to secure sponsorships

17. Games and Yes In progress In progress In progress In progress In progress In progress entertainment Informational Yes No Yes Yes No No No websites Post graduate Yes No Yes Yes No No No research Short learning No No No Yes No Yes Yes programme Lecture based Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No No training ( informal ) Lecture based No No Yes No No No No training ( formal ) Competency test Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Further Teachers Public and Secondary Community education Universities and private Aged schools members training educators sectors colleges Limpopo Limpopo Limpopo Limpopo Limpopo Eastern Cape Eastern Cape province province province province province province province Eastern Cape Eastern Cape Eastern Cape Eastern Cape province province province province Mpumalanga Mpumalanga Mpumalanga province province province Gauteng Gauteng Gauteng province province province Current cyber security initiatives

18. Future of cyber awareness in South Africa "Cyber space changes so quickly, it's never really the same for very long. With the domain that changes so much like that, it's important - it's almost essential – for us to make progress in the domain as a nation in that we have great education and training" • By combining these initiatives, it might be possible to facilitate cooperation agreements • enable the delivering of a comprehensive package of products that can easily be adapted to be used in all the South African provinces, for all the identified user groups

19. Conclusion • Current South African initiatives to measure and enhance cyber security awareness in different communities • Indicates some of the cyber security components and topics that should form part of individual projects rolled out on a national level • Existing South African initiatives are on par with international cyber security initiatives - Cyber security is a global problem, and thus should be addressed by all nations • Synergy between different South African entities can contribute to a working cyber security awareness concept that can be easily adapted to be used by countries in Africa in the area of cyber security awareness