An Assistant lecturer with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Cape Coast, Mr. Paul Kobina Arhin Junior has advised the general public to exercise caution when using the internet or other digital devices such as mobile phones in order to avoid cyber-attacks.
According to him, the growing number of cybercrimes is result of excessive revelation of personal information on the internet.
He also claims that cybercrime is on the rise as a result of social media platforms and other institutions having access to users’ personal information, making users susceptible to risk of being hacked, hence users must ensure that no private information are left on both digital gadgets or on the internet to prevent criminals from exploiting it for criminal purposes.
Speaking in an interview on the ATLANTIC WAVE Mr. Arhin advised that, “the internet leaves digital footprints when accessed, hence let not reveal very sensitive data on social media. We cannot trust WhatsApp. In fact we have been told that when you join whatsApp there is an end to end encryption that is to achieve confidentiality but the point is that we should not put out there anything sensitive about us on social media”.
According to him, criminals engage in cyber- attacks because most institutions and social media platforms have users’ personal information which they can use thus individuals must be careful about how they consent to agreements.
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He also advised the general public to avoid saving their passwords on browsers and to log out when done with their accounts online.
“One thing that makes mobile apps different from web apps is the fact that mobile app is just a narrow channel for you but for web apps you are accessing a browser of which other people are also using and that is why the danger is coming from. We should not save our passwords in our browsers”. he added.
On the part of institutions holding users’ personal information, Mr. Arhin urged that policies be set to sanitize and protect cyberspaces from attacks.
“let us put in place polices that will regulate how the cyber space is used in the country”, he stressed.
On his part, an assistant lecturer also with the department, Mr. Elliot Kojo Attipoe indicated that there are institutions established to combat cybercrime in the country, hence individuals who have been attacked must endeavor to report when they encounter those problems.
“There are institutions in place to check cyber-attacks. Now we have the cybercrimes unit of the Ghana police service, the cyber security authority, so whenever you feel you have been attacked or your device has been tampered with, you can report there” he admonished.
SOURCE: EMMANUELLA GYAMFI/ATLFM NEWS
