Broadband broadens scope for cyber crime in Africa

Abstract

Africa has recently seen explosive growth in information and communication technologies, making cyber crime a reality in this part of the world. This paper investigates the possibility of another increase in cyber crime as a result of the planned increased broadband access for the African continent. Currently, Africa has limited or inadequate action and controls to protect computers and networks, making it both a target of attack as well as a medium to attack other parts of the world. Cyber space threats and trends are a reality as the shortage of IT education and the absence of African languages prevents people from acting on warnings of cyber fraud. To address this problem, people need to be made aware of the threats and trends, and the potential adverse effect it may have on them: the use of pirate copies of software and operating systems increases the threats as no security updates are installed; the lack of standardized procedures can lead to uncertainties about the effectiveness of investigating techniques. An increase in broadband access will give Internet access to more users in Africa, effectively broadening the scope for cyber crime.