Home

South Africans cautioned about cyber crimes

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has cautioned South Africans to be on the lookout for cyber related crimes. The council held a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday to educate society on how social media and other platforms are used to defraud them.

Cybercrime also known as computer oriented crime is a crime that involves unlawful activities which are carried out by means of computers or the Internet by unlawful individuals.

On Monday, cyber security specialists from the CSIR addressed how social media and other platforms are being used to defraud society. The specialists also provided ways for people to be alert at all times.

Senior Security Specialist at CSIR Muyowa Mutemwa says there is a lack of awareness from both citizens and authorities who are meant to follow through on cybercrimes. “The idea is to try and educate the public as much as possible, that’s the first thing. The second thing is behind the scenes we work with different institutions such as SAPS, such as the government to actually come up with ways to and mechanisms to actually first and foremost educate the public .The second thing is how do we then protect the public once they have been compromised? The third thing is how we then make sure that private information is not mishandled by the different organisations that are supposed to handle them.”

Senior Data Analyst at CSIR Nyalleng Moorosi believes that people want to stay online because it is useful as people can easily access information but she also stresses that people should be on the lookout for online crimes.

“The basic things are do not overshare, my colleagues have already mentioned that do not overshare your information, the most useful one is do not share your location even on social media. The practice of checking in, it is okay to check in if you’re sure your home is safe but also that you will be safe and you’re okay with people knowing where you are as you move.”

CSIR Researcher in Data Science Thulani Mashiane says individuals should always think about the future before posting something on the internet as potential employers tend to do research about their potential employees before hiring them.

“ Why not have two social media accounts, one where you share your private information with just your family and friends and have another one for the public; where you are conscious of what you post,  where you are really managing your brand and you’re not mixing it up with your personal information.”

 

Author

MOST READ