Dr Sogo Angel Olofinbiyi and Professor Shanta Balgobind Singh of the Department of Criminology and Forensic Studies’ article on the novel coronavirus as an outbreak of cyber-crime vector has been published in the International Journal of Criminology and Sociology. The article presents a number of the world’s most recent cyber insecurity cases that accompanied the pandemic’s onset.
The disruption of day-to-day business and personal activities resulted in people moving online, presenting opportunities to cyber invaders. The article presents a framework for a safety and emergency management approach to protect citizens and institutions from cyberattacks. The authors call for global sensitisation and awareness programmes on the potential danger of cyber insecurity accompanying the COVID-19 pandemic. All organisations should ensure that they have appropriate measures in place to respond to a data breach should one occur. Their IT teams and internet security experts should be prepared to respond rapidly to any threat. There is also an urgent need to ensure that all computer systems are resistant to cyber threats. This requires that employees’ cyber hygiene be fortified with powerful anti-virus software that is sensitive to external invasion.
Protecting personal and confidential information should be part of all organisations’ COVID-19 response plan and employees that are working remotely should be updated on what to do in a cyber-emergency.
