For instance, between 1993 and 1997, the number of computers connected to the Internet globally rose from one million to 20 million. That figure is said to have now risen to about 500 million.
Despite Nigeria’s low broadband penetration, the President, Information Security Society of Africa- Nigeria, Mr. David Isiavwe, says estimated 40 million computers in the country are exposed to abuse and cyber threats.
Analysts say many of the computers are currently being used by small and medium scale enterprises.
Industry watchers say all businesses, whether big or small, face the same dangers from cybercriminals. They cite the example of the recent cyber attack on MasterCard online payment operations.
They lament that small businesses in Nigeria appear unprepared for the rising cyber threats.
According to the International Council for Small Businesses, nearly one- fifth of small businesses do not use antivirus software.
Similarly, 60 per cent do not use any encryption on their wireless links; and two-thirds of the small businesses do not have any security in place.
Experts generally agree that majority of small businesses do not have the dedicated Information Technology support needed to monitor their computer networks and protect them from attack.
According to them, many SME owners in Nigeria lack the expertise to deploy the software or hardware solutions available to address the ever-changing security challenges.
Their opinion is that as large enterprises continue to tighten their security, cybercriminals are eyeing SMEs as their next target. And many Nigerian small businesses may be affected.
It is more imperative for people to protect their businesses against cyber attacks than before, considering that many SMEs currently view the Internet as a necessary enterprise tool.
The ISSAN president, Isiavwe, says the face of cybercrime is changing to a more malicious, financially driven and harder to detect framework across the globe; therefore, organisations must secure their applications, web services, and data.
The Chief Executive Officer, HiiT Plc, Mr. Kayode Shobajo, corroborating Isiavwe‘s view, says increased spending by large organisations on IT security is turning the attention of cybercriminals to vulnerable small and medium businesses.
He advises SMEs to create an Internet use policy/ plan to protect their information.
This, he says, can include policy that lets employees know what their responsibilities are when it comes to surfing the web during working hours.
The plan can also address what files or software can be downloaded from the Internet and what sites can and cannot be visited at work.
Experts linked to the International Council for Small Businesses also say SMEs should also focus on content filter to forestall increasing cyber threats to businesses.
According to www.cyberpatrol.com, ”The easiest solution to spyware, malware, and other Internet threats is to prevent access to those sites most likely to contain them. No employee, for any reason, should access the sites that you block at work. A content filter will block access to pornographic and other sites most used by cybercriminals and others with ill intent. Content filters also prevent employees from accessing non-work related sites that negatively impact work effort and productivity.”
Experts also advise SMEs to keep business and home computing separate, adding that it pays to maintain separate computers for work and home use.
Though it makes budget sense to use the same computer for business and home, experts argue that it exposes the business owners and their customers to significant risk.
”Investing in another computer will easily pay for itself in risk reduction,” cyberpatrol says.
Other important steps to take, according to the HiiT boss, is to embrace email protection, which guards against spam and other threats.
Cyberpatrol says, ”Always create strong passwords of more than six characters that use mixed-case letters and include numbers and symbols. These strong passwords are much harder for any cybercriminal to break or guess.”
A 2005 Small Business Technology Institute Study found that 60 per cent of small businesses have open wireless networks, which often do not address the security risks they pose.
Experts, however, advise that SMEs must encrypt their wireless network as part of ways in addressing risks associated with wireless network.
Finally, SMEs are urged to consult experts on how to build strong protection against cyber threats.
Source:http://www.punchng.com/
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