Today, February 8 2022, is Safer Internet Day. The theme this year is “Together for a better internet”. The year marks the 19th edition of Safer Internet Day which commemorates a day for stakeholders to come together to bring attention and solidarity towards making the internet safer and better place for all, and more so, for children and young people.
As part of our commitment to the day, KICTANet collaborated with the Cybersecurity Capacity Centre for Southern Africa (C3SA) and EBotho Cyberspace and participated in a webinar to promote cybersecurity awareness for civil society organisations in sub-Saharan Africa.
The key speakers included: Francis Mdlongwa (moderator), David Moepeng, Lillian Nalwoga (CIPESA), Victor Kapiyo (KICTANet) and Tendani Chimboza (C3SA).
The session highlighted the key cyber harms faced by civil society, the state of digital rights and the key actions that civil society in the region need to undertake to prevent threats and promote the realisation of digital rights in the region.
The speakers called for greater vigilance by civil society; investment in awareness and capacity building; strong coalitions and collaboration among civil society; and regular monitoring and reporting on the state of digital rights on the continent.
Further, we also share our top 10 cyber hygiene tips to help you keep safe online:
1. Install and keep up to date your antivirus and malware software.
2. Beware of suspicious emails, websites and avoid clicking links that are unfamiliar or unknown.
3. Use network firewalls and secure access points.
4. Update your apps, web browsers, operating systems and software on your devices regularly.
5. Set and use strong passwords that are unique, complex and long.
6. Use multi-factor (two-factor) authentication to provide an additional layer of protection.
7. Encrypt data on your all your devices.
8. Backup regularly either offline or on trusted cloud services.
9. Erase information when selling or giving away your devices.
10. Avoid unsecure public Wi-Fi networks and if you must, use a virtual private network (VPN) tunnel for secure connection.
