October has been an international Cyber Security Awareness Month (CSAM) in several countries around the world. But a few activities are done in Rwanda and there is rarely much attention given to this month.

The month is an annual campaign in which firms, institutions and countries engage people and their customers to raise awareness on the importance of cyber security through different events and initiatives.

In the age of the fast growth of internet and information and communication technologies (ICTs), people, companies and countries are increasingly becoming more vulnerable to online fraud and threats.

With this month, many firms take up the role of educating customers and employees on how to behave online and the best measures of staying safe on internet and on other digital platforms.

In Rwanda, I&M Bank is one of the banks which has been active during this month. The bank created an awareness campaign that promotes cyber security among its customers and the employees about the importance of information security.

"We have highlighted the simple steps that can be taken to protect their data, whether personal, financial or professional. The main goal being to continue raising awareness, change behavior and provide resources to all about how to protect themselves online,” says Jawahar Manickam, the Information Security Manager at I&M Bank Rwanda.

"We focused our attention on how fraud attempts are permitted to manifest in the initial place, because once they begin, the effort required to resolve them often resonates through to the customer. Blocking fraud from entering the system is the most efficient means of preventing it,” he adds.

This month, the bank joined other banks across the world to provide people with tools and resources needed to stay safe online, and increase the resiliency of the bank in the event of a cyber incident.

According to Manickam, this year it was noted that banks around the world were having to ‘fend off’ several cyber-attacks every single day, and the WannaCry attack resulted in a number of high-level data breaches, including hospitals, government entities and banks with an estimated $120 billion dollars being stolen.

He says that many banks have experienced and observed increase in online frauds through internet banking, scams via mobile banking and malware that can grind business operations to a halt.

Cyberteq can boost your cyber security

According to Cyberteq expert, today, institutions are lifting their focus from physical assets to paying more attention to the information and data, which many believe are the most valuable assets of the 21st century.

There is a need for firms to devise more ways to come up with awareness that help protect and secure not just them but also their customers from increasing threats.

"By taking an active role in communities, we all help to build a culture of cyber security. Cyber security is a shared responsibility, one in which Rwandans, their government, the private sector, education and our international partners all play a role,” says Kevine Bajeneza.

According to Kevine Bajeneza, the chief operating officer at Cyberteq, one of the leading private companies that provide cyber security solutions in Rwanda, there are still limited awareness in many organisations about cyber security.

"Cybersecurity is still regarded as a responsibility of IT whereas everyone is supposed to play a role. Limited cyber security capacity and low level of investment in cyber security measures is another issue,” she said.

She says that firms need to build internal capacities as well define appropriate security measures and consider it as priority in an era where security trends are becoming worrisome.

The firm has recently developed a Cyber Security Framework to engage organisations and encourage them to prioritize cyber security and define proper standards to achieve compliance and secure businesses.

The Framework allows firms to assess, reduce vulnerabilities and manage the risks.