MTN Ghana holds cybersecurity awareness at Labone Senior High School
MTN Ghana has begun cybersecurity education in various institutions as part of the cybersecurity awareness month celebrations this October, with a focus on Senior High Schools.
The journey to strengthen the protection of internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyber threats, dubbed "Stay safe online," officially began at the Assembly Hall of Labone Senior High School in Labone, Accra on Monday, October 10.
Cyberattacks typically aim to gain access to, change, or destroy sensitive information; extort money from users via ransomware; or disrupt normal business processes, with some victims even subjected to physical attacks.
Welcoming the MTN delegation to the school, Madam Adelaide Boye, the Assistant Head Teacher of Labone Senior High School, expressed appreciation to MTN for choosing the school among many others for such an important education.
"You could have chosen any other school, but instead, you chose to start at Labone Senior High School, something we are very grateful about, and we believe this will go a long way to helping our students and internet users to be able to stay safe on the internet," she applauded.
She added, "We should be cautious of wherever we go and whatever we do on the internet, just as we are cautious of our actions and movements in our daily lives. The spaces in which cyber attackers operate have been heightened, which is why this education is a step in the right direction.”
On her part, Madam Abigail Kakai, the Assistant Manager of Child Online at Cybersecurity Authority (CSA), also admonished the students to be SMART in all their dealings on the internet to avoid cyber threats.
She explained the term SMART, which is an acronym for:
M: for being cautious about who you socialise with on the internet and then deciding to meet physically without questioning who the person may be, whether a kidnapper, robber, or whatever.
Internet users should be very careful and selective when it comes to the point where they have to accept someone as a friend. As the meaning of the A in the word smART suggests, they need to ensure that the information they come across on the internet is R-reliable with reference to its source before they believe it or share it with other friends.
The last letter, T, as contained in the word SMART, according to Miss Kakai, is a point where children are encouraged to tell their trusted adults in their neighbourhood about mind-boggling issues they come across in their dealings on the internet.
She told students and internet users to report cybersecurity issues to the toll-free number 292 to lodge their complaints.
Diving deeper into the issue of cyber threats and how students and other internet users can shield themselves from being exposed, Miss Bernice identified the various threats to internet usage, which are: wrong information sharing; intimidating and trolling others; spreading malicious rumours about people; making other people's private information public; stealing others’ identities through parody accounts; and several others.
The facilitator told the students to desist from clicking unknown links, specifically those alleged to have promotions, and also make sure that links contain HTTPS before they click on them because such links are secured links.
To be able to protect yourself and your devices from being attacked by cyber bullies, Miss Bernice advised that users must frequently ensure that their software applications are always up-to-date and their devices are well secured, which contributes to cybersecurity.
Speaking on the sidelines, Madam Jacqueline Hanson-Kotei, the Senior Manager for Enterprising Information Security and Government at MTN Ghana, highlighted the importance of such programs, stating that there is a need to keep people safe on the internet as it has not become a larger part of people's daily lives.
"This forms part of our social responsibility to ensure that cybersecurity issues are brought to the fore because most of our lives these days are lived online, so this is not only for students but for our staff and customers as well to make sure that our lives on the internet are lived safely without being overexposed to cyberbullying." "Let's learn more cybersecurity information as well to help us stay safer on the internet," she said.
MTN provided some items to the students who attended the programme. Following the programme, the school's administration received items to aid in cybersecurity awareness and sensitization.
Close to a thousand students, teachers, MTN employees, and journalists attended the event.