We are living in a world that will never be the same. What was yesterday is not the same today. We are living in what experts are calling “the greatest 4th revolution” ruled and dominated by technology. Technology is no longer a passing cloud.
In the current world, when we talk about technology, the conversation is often tailored towards the internet and we can never talk about the internet without talking about social media. Social media platforms are literally controlling our lives.
Social media is what is running the world. Governments around the world are more scared of social media than anything else. It is all about the power of the information and how fast it spreads. They know that social media is more powerful than weapons.
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Nigeria has banned the use of Twitter. This was after Twitter deleted a tweet sent out by President Buhari, and one that was reported and found to be inappropriate. As things stand, it is a crime to use Twitter in Nigeria. The government is considering making it law.
The people of Burkina Faso have been operating without the internet for months. The same applies to Ethiopia and Sudan. In Tanzania, there was a total internet shutdown during the Presidential elections. This shows how powerful and scary the social media world is.
But social media is not as scary as cybercrime. Every time the subject of cybercrime and cybersecurity is discussed, people tend to shift their focus from their daily lives and start thinking of international criminals who hack banks and other corporates for money and data, or for ransom.
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The truth is cybercrime is all around us. Any electronic that you have exposes you to cybercrime; be it a TV or a mobile phone. The subject of cybercrime and cybersecurity, therefore, is not about big multinationals but about us, Kenyans, and Africans.
The questions you should ask yourself every time you lock into an online platform is:
Why are you on social media?
How much information are you sharing on social media?
How can you protect yourself while online?
How can you protect your accounts while online?
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Why are you on social media?
People are on social media for various reasons. Some for business, some to socialize, while some just want to be seen. There are those on social media for education. In Kenya, there are those who are on social media to bully others and others to hunt for personal information.
How much information do you share on social media?
How much information are you sharing on social media? That is the question. The truth is that people have put so much trust in social media platforms that they are sharing more than what should be shared about their lives and that of family.
People are so addicted to social media platforms that the first thing someone does, even before confirming whether their legs can move is to log into a social media platform to confirm their status on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Cases of children being kidnapped, people being carjacked are on the increase in Nairobi. Investigations often end up to that Facebook or Instagram post that one made about their kid, with a pinned a location and how wealthy they are.
The mobile loan frenzy in Kenya has led to so many Kenyans compromise their personal information and data. Most mobile apps in Kenya ask for personal information such as names, ID number, Year of Birth, an image of the ID, access to call logs, access to images, access to messages among others.
The bottom line is people are sharing more than enough with strangers. But truth is, these strangers don’t care unless they want to exploit you.
How can you protect yourself while online?
- Stop Sharing more than what is needed.
If you cannot stop sharing, then minimize sharing too much information about yourself across social media platforms. You become vulnerable the moment you share more information online. Be mysterious in your posting and “keep enemies at bay.”
- Have a Password
Have a password for everything. A password is like a door to your house/living room. Make sure that the house is always under lock to protect whatever is inside from being stolen. So, have a password.
- Have a Stronger Password
Having a password is not enough but having a stronger one is. Your password should be at least 8 characters—the more characters, the better. It should be a mixture of both uppercase and lowercase letters, letters, and numbers, and the inclusion of at least one special character.
- Have two-factor verification/authentication enabled
Two-factor authentication (2FA), sometimes referred to as two-step verification or dual-factor authentication, is a security process in which users provide two different authentication factors to verify themselves.
This process is done to better protect both the user’s credentials and the resources the user can access.
- Google password manager
Great for long passwords that are hard to remember. It secures them and one can access them anytime. It always requires a Gmail password before accessing them.
- Do not save passwords on your gadgets
This makes it easy for people to access your electronics with much ease.
- Stop using your names as passwords
They always make the first password attempts for hackers.