Privacy laxity exposes us to cyberattacks
It's not possible to overstate the cybercrime threat
Recently operations at the Western Cape Blood Service had to switch to manual mode when a cyberattack brought down its systems. This news arrived as Transnet started restoring its systems after what may have been a ransomware attack. In 2019, the City of Johannesburg had to untangle the damage from a successful breach by online criminals, and last year a justice fund came under attack.
While we spend a lot of energy discussing these attacks, one narrative remains overlooked - concerns over data privacy. If we can turn such concerns against cybercrime, the digital world would be a much safer place. But we're not. We don't even seem aware that there is a connection and thus a misdirection of effort...
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