The Real First Step Up The “Cyber-security Staircase”
So, what is the real first step up the “cyber-security staircase” ? What is the preliminary and most important decision to take to secure yourself digitally?
If you’ve ever been in company of cyber-security enthusiasts then you’ve probably witnessed a conversation where one would say, “This cyber-security tool is far more effective than that!” and then another would respond: “I think this one is way better, plus it’s free!!” — well, my thoughts would be to forget which computer security tool is better than the other and instead ask myself this…
have I at all even taken the personal initiative to be digitally secure? — because that is the real first step.
The important action leading to even pondering on different options of today’s cyber-security tools is the bold move of taking personal charge of your digital devices’ security.
There are lots of cyber-security tools out there, ranging from ones demanding decent payment to those coming free of charge. Free tools, like the mailvelope tool, the signal tool, the martus tool… all of these and many others supplement computer security — to people that have actually taken the initiative to personally ensure their own digital security. They do not come built-in nor are they standard issue pre-installed software. They assist when you decide to take time and install them in your computers, consequently, taking the first step.
But most of us haven’t taken this bold first step. It is high time that we should.
“Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility, and it boils down to this: in cybersecurity, the more systems we secure, the more secure we all are” — Jeh Johnson
Collaboratively, we have taken this first step. There are many group initiatives worldwide and country-wise. In Tanzania, for example, The cyber crimes Act was introduced in 2015, listing and defining various cyber crimes and their respective legal penalties. This has made people in Tanzania more digitally cautious and although raising debates among various stakeholders, people are in fact missing the point that we have taken this real first step! However controversial it might be, we are moving, and this is something very positive.
It doesn’t end with the government alone — The Innovation, technology and entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Tanzania is making strides as well.
In November 2017, Sahara-consult Company Limited, based in Tanzania, and The Collaboration on International ICT Policy in East and Southern Africa (CIPESA), brought together about 40 software developers, a human rights expert and a cyber-security expert to discuss issues in ICT, human rights, and cyber security in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Borrowing a phrase that Neil Armstrong said as he made his first step on the moon — “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” …
for Sahara Ventures it was: “One small training on cyber-security, one giant digital security initiative by the innovation, technology and entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Tanzania.”
So, as different society groups we’re doing fine… but now, my esteemed reader, the question that you should take seriously is:
what are you doing about your own cyber-security at a personal level?
Living in these times, I presume you use a computer, be it personal or company property. At the very least, you own a digital device. Make it your personal responsibility to ensure that your digital credentials are always secure, and then maybe go that extra mile of finding new cyber-security tools that will further put that ever-so-crucial hammer in the nail of the above-spoken subject.
If we all do this, we will be on our way up that “cyber-security staircase”. Who knows, one day we might climb up that staircase fast enough and reach that ever-heightening and virtually asymptotic summit — “Absolute Cyber-security”.
Impossible? We’ll never know unless we take the real first step.
By Mathew M. Rugaimukamu
