Martin Endjala
Johann Van Rooyen, a Senior Technical Advisor at the Green Enterprise Solution has called on Namibian consumers to exercise a level of high alert amidst cybercrimes which often increase during the holiday season.
He said the end of the year is filled with frantic shopping, Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals and online shopping are the norm. Although in Namibia, most people still go to physical shops, there is a shift to shopping online, and this is where hackers see the window of opportunity.
“As we approach the most wonderful time of the year, we start thinking about buying presents online. This comes with a downside, as criminals target online shoppers, using increasingly sophisticated methods because cybercrime and fraud are worth hundreds of billions a year. Crooks can cause huge financial problems comprising information technology systems and devices and ruin Christmas,” said Van Rooyen.
He explained that each time a person accesses the Internet on one of their many devices to purchase something, they are targeted by hackers through viruses and malware for example.
Adding that one may think they are shopping online on a secure website, but still phishing attacks and replica websites that look and feel like the real deal engage the user, and ask for personal data, and credit card details, leaving people very exposed.
However, he believes that a person can buy presents from the comfort of their own home without compromising their security, however, it must start by having a robust up-to-date virus scanner and installing all necessary updates.
He advised that people should make sure that there is a little padlock in the bottom corner of the website, denoting that it is secure, and not to save any banking information on a website.
“Do not shop while using a public Wi-Fi network, unless using a proper Virtual Private Network, always use strong passwords and IDs when choosing a password for a website. A combination of letters, numbers, and symbols is usually the best, this makes hacking into your accounts much harder.
Cybercrime is said to be one of the biggest growth markets and anyone can fall victim, vigilance and robust cyber-security software is therefore essential.
“It can mean the difference between a happy holiday season or a ruined festive season, that has a huge negative financial impact. In Namibia, we lack training, and knowledge when it comes to basic IT security processes that’s why focusing attention on being safe online, especially during the holiday season is important,” said Van Rooyen.
