CYBERSECURITY AGENCY TO BE FORMED IN SINGAPORE

A day before "DATA PRIVACY DAY", Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s office announced the creation of the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore, which “will provide dedicated and centralised oversight of national cyber security functions.” Given the sinister ways in which cyber threats are evolving, the move is a necessary step for a wired, wealthy nation that has long been the target of cybercrime.

This is a rare radical step towards the fight against cybercrimes in Singapore which came at the right time considering  a string of attacks on Singapore government portals, including the websites of the office of the prime minister and the president in 2013, as well as  recent cyber-attacks against Finland, Germany, Ukraine, and U.S and other parts of the world.

The agency, which will work closely with the private sector, will be involved in "strategy and policy development, cyber security operations, industry development and outreach," according to the statement.

Minister for Communications and Information Yaacob Ibrahim will be put in charge of cyber security, it said. Last year Yaacob said the city-state was upgrading its Cyber-Watch Centre, allowing it to track malicious activities and respond swiftly when there are security breaches.

He said the government was working to increase the number of homegrown cyber security experts by partnering with local universities that offer specialist degrees.

Cyber-attacks cost an estimated "$445 BILLION" in damages per year, At Davos, participants diplomatically shied away from naming exactly which countries are increasing their cooperation with organized cybercrime, but their identities are no secret.

SIKU YA KIMATAIFA YA FARAGHA YA TAARIFA (DPD) NA YAKUZINGATIA

Mataifa mbalimbali duniani ifikapo tarehe 28 ya kila mwezi wa kwanza wanaadhimisha siku ya kimataifa ya faragha ya taarifa ambapo kunakua na matukio mbali mbali ya kuhamasisha njia rafiki za kuweka salama taarifa za watu hasa wawapo mtandaoni. Taarifa zaidi za siku hii "BONYEZA HAPA"

Siku hii imekua ikitumika vizuri kwa ushirikiano mkubwa ma mashirika binafsi, serikali na vyombo vya habari kukumbusha watumiaji mitandao kuzingatia matumizi salama ya mitandao ili kubakisha taarifa za watumiaji mtandao salama.

Inafahamika, ukuaji wa wa kasi wa Teknolojia umeambatana matumizi yasiokusudiwa wa teknolojia ambapo umekua ukihatarisha sana ufaragha wa watumiaji wa teknolojia hizo. Kwa kuzingatia hili siku ya kimataifa ya faragha ya taarifa imekua ikihimizwa kutumika vizuri kukumbusha watumiaji mtandao yale yanayoweza kuhakikisha taarifa zao zinabaki salama watumiapo mitandao.

Kwa uchache mambo kadhaa ya kuzingatia ili kuweza kulinda faragha yako ya taarifa ikiwa ni ukumbusho ni kama yafuatayo:-

Kupitia mahojiano maalumu katika kuadhimisha siku ya kimataifa ya faragha ya taarifa yaliyofanyika kati yangu na kituo cha radio cha East Africa pamepata kuanishwa kwa uchache mambo muhimu ya kuzingatia ili kuweza kujiweka salama utumiapo mtandao na kuhakiki taarifa zako zinabaki salama ambapo ni umakini wa kuperuzi tovuti pamoja na utumiaji wa Hotspots (Wifi au Wireless) zinazotolewa bure katika maeneo ya mkusanyiko.

Ufafanuzi wa kujua jinsi gani utajua kama tovuti unayoitembelea ni salama au la – Kuna tool maarufu ijulikanayo kama “WOT – Web Of Trust” ambayo inatoa msaada wa kutoa tathmini ya tovuti. Inapo ona tovuti haiku salama inakutahadharisha unapojaribu kuitembelea, ni vizuri ikatumiwa ili iweze kukupa msaada wa kujua kama unachotembelea ni salama au la.

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM - COUNTRIES SHOULD INVEST MORE ON CYBERSECURITY

During the world economic forum in Davos this year, Cybersecurity was one of the "AGENDA". François Hollande emphasized on countries to invest more on cybersecurity. Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, also addressed the most pressing issues facing cybersecurity during a panel session.

In the panel discussion – Thomas Hendrik Ilves, President of Estonia; Jean-Paul Laborde, Executive Director of the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate; and Bradford L. Smith, Executive Vice-President of Microsoft Corporation considered how it is possible to balance security and privacy in the Internet age, how to build resilient cyberdefenses on a national level, and how international cooperation can bolster global cybersecurity generally.

Ahead of the meeting, Eugene Kaspersky said: “The importance of cybersecurity is growing in line with the growth of our reliance on computer networks and connected devices. WEF in Davos is an excellent opportunity for world leaders to address the most burning issues we face in cyberspace. I’ve been observing how year by year Cyberthreats and the ways to address them are gaining in importance on the agendas of the Davos Forums.”

“I can see how the protection of critical infrastructure from cyberattacks has become an important priority for world leaders. My company has investigated and tackled some of the most sophisticated cyberattacks in history, and this expertise is very much in demand today.” Eugene added.

BAKI SALAMA KIMTANDAO UTUMIAPO SIMU ZA MKONONI

Watumiaji wa simu za mkononi wameendelea kukua  kadri siku zinavyo endelea na kumekua na maswali mengi jinsi gani mtu anaweza kubaki salama atumiapo simu za mkononi.

Hapa nitaangazia uhalifu mtandao unao ambatana na simu za mikononi na njia za matumizi salama ya simu za mkononi.

Nianze kuangazia uhalifu unaoweza kusababishwa na simu za mkononi.

Swapping: Huu ni uhalifu mtandao unao kua kwa kasi hivi sasa maeneo mbali mbali unaotoa fursa kwa mhalifu mtandao kuwa na matumizi ya simu ya mtu bila ya mwenye simu kujua. Mara nyingi wahalifu mtandao wana lenga kuiba pesa au kuwasiliana na watu wa karibu wa mtumiaji halisi wa simu ya mkononi kwa sababu tofauti tofauti.

Hii inatokea pale mhalifu mtandao anapo kua amepata namba yako ya simu na kusoma  ratiba yako hasa muda gani unakua hauna matumizi makubwa na simu – Baada ya kujua hivyo kupitia programu zilizopo sasa zina mpa fursa kukutoa hewani na kuanza kuitumia namba yako ya simu  ambapo anaweza kufanya mengi baada ya kua na umiliki huo ikiwa ni pamoja na kutoa au kuhamisha pesa zako na pia kuitumia vibaya simu yako.

Shoulder surfing: Hii ni njia inayotumika na wahalifu mtandao kuweza kujua namba za siri anazotumia mmiliki wa simu kwa kuangalia pale mtumiaji wa simu anapofanya miama ya kifedha kupitia simu au kufungua simu yake.

TOP-THREE CYBER-THREATS IDENTIFIED IN THAILAND

According to a global security software company – Trend Micro, Top three cyber-threats in Thailand this year will be online-banking malware, malware on mobile devices, and attacks on open-source vulnerabilities, Khongsak Kortrakul, senior manager of technology services at the company, said the great majority of malware attacks on mobile devices would target Android-based units.

In the first nine months of last year, 2.3 million mobile devices were hit by malware. Meanwhile, vulnerabilities were exploited by the security bugs Heartbleed, Shellshock and Sandworm.

The major victims were government agencies. However, the education sector does not seem to interest cyber-criminals.

He said online-banking malware would be on the rise this year as banks were providing new services via mobile applications, and app users were easier to attack than banks' own systems.

Khongsak said that in 2015, more cyber-criminals would turn to darknets and exclusive-access forums to share and sell crimeware, while increased cyber-security would translate into better, bigger and more successful hacking tools and attempts.

Exploit kits will target Android, as mobile vulnerabilities play a bigger role in device infection.

Meanwhile, targeted attacks will become more prevalent.

New mobile payment methods will introduce new threats, and more attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in open-source apps.

It is also predicted that technological diversity will save devices within the Internet of Everything (IoE) and Internet of Things (IoT) from mass attacks, while more severe online-banking and other financially motivated threats will surface.

William Tan, regional country manager of Trend Micro, said that around 90 per cent of businesses in the world had experienced cyber-attacks, 55 per cent of organisations were not aware of such attacks, and businesses globally loss around Bt1 billion from targeted attacks.