Cybersecurity, according to him, is about safeguarding what is important to you. Criminals, especially cyber ones, are always looking for chances to defraud people or businesses to make a living. Sometimes, others engage in cybercrimes to show power or disgrace victims.
Additionally, some of the criminals just want to harass people by signing them up for multiple subscriptions that they usually won’t subscribe to.
WhatsApp is a good messaging app with strong security features that make it difficult for criminals to hack or penetrate to get users’ information. But it is not 100% perfect in terms of security.
Cybercriminals prey on the human factor
Mr Acquah, who is responsible for managing all aspects of IT strategy, budgets, applications/platforms, network, hardware, and management of the large IT team at MTN Ghana, is passionate about sharing advice to help people protect themselves at home and in the workplace.
Speaking at today’s Bright Conversations organised by MTN Ghana as part of activities to mark this year’s Cybersecurity Month, he noted many information security issues do cross over between business and personal life, and criminals could take advantage of people’s instincts.
So, it is only understanding that makes it easier for people to stay a few steps ahead of the criminals, Mr Acquah added.
Despite the complex nature of cybersecurity, he is confident that there are better ways to secure personal information and digital assets.
How to spot and avoid common cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities
Risk #1: Deepfakes
These are usually images or recordings that have been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said. People can lose thousands or millions of Ghana cedis through deed fakes.
Risk #2: Phishing
This often involves bad guys preying on another’s trust. For instance, someone who is preparing to close on a house. The criminals hack into emails between the buyer and their banker.
Then they wait. At the right moment, they may send the buyer an email, seemingly from their banker, changing the wire instructions. It could result in the buyer transferring thousands of Ghana cedis somewhere else.
Risk #3: Generative AI, such as ChatGPT
It is risky to share your company or business information via ChatGPT, Mr Acquah said. Generative AI can share what is uploaded with the rest of the world. So, it is not advisable to use it and not ever use it to share any sensitive company information, according to him.
Mr Acquah also warned staff of companies never to enter any identifying information such as a photo, address or educational background on that platform.
Risk #4: Multifactor identification fatigue
Criminals also try to wear people down with multifactor identification fatigues. They sometimes bombard someone with requests to confirm log-in attempts they didn’t initiate.
These log-in requests are always tempting to confirm, just to get notifications to stop. That’s given the criminals access to their username and password. So, never accept uninitiated requests, he told journalists at the event at MTN Ghana’s head office in Accra.
Risk #5: Free Wi-Fi network
Criminals can enter homes and offices through devices, even with doors and windows locked. They can enter through something as simple as a smart TV. Once they’ve breached the TV, they could jump to a laptop where someone has been working.
From there, they may find social security numbers and other sensitive financial information. This a big problem. To reduce this risk, keep firewalls and laptops updated frequently, he advised.
More measures
Touching on the theme: ‘Navigating the Digital World Security: Awareness, Action, Assurance’ at the Bright Conversations moderated by Koby Spiky Nkrumah, Group Head, EIB Digital, Mr Acquah Accra, called on individuals to use multiple measures to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.
“Even a single antivirus is not all that safe. But using multiple antiviruses is safer”. Individuals’ Passwords should be changed regularly for at least one month, while passwords of businesses should be changed every three months. This, according to him, would make them safer and stronger against any cyberattack and its related activities.
As young people who depend on the internet for information, it is more important than ever before to protect themselves against cyber threats or attacks by not exposing themselves to unknown people online.
He further advised them to be extra vigilant on verification in order not to expose themselves, their families, and others to cyberattacks.