As digital platforms continue to advance, a cybercrime expert has urged the public to remain vigilant against cyber threats and scams, which are primarily perpetrated by anonymous online actors.
In recent years, South Sudan has seen a significant increase in the use of social media platforms due to the country's internet and mobile telecommunication penetration.
However, while these platforms offer numerous benefits in terms of communication and information sharing, they also pose significant cybercrimes to their users.
According to a survey by SafetyComm South Sudan, cybercrimes seem to most frequently occur on Facebook and WhatsApp platforms.
These crimes take the form of phishing attacks, which masquerade as legitimate messages and links but are malicious in nature, designed to trick users into revealing sensitive information.
Upon clicking and downloading, links or file attachments embedded with viruses and ransomware infect users' devices and compromise their data.
These attachments are fronted in terms of fake free giveaways, job and investment opportunities, and scholarships, which impersonate credible individuals and institutions.
To avoid cybercrimes, Nelson Kwaje urged the public to always verify messages.
“The public is urged to pay attention and avoid clicking links attached to messages they receive, whether through email or direct messages in their social media accounts, before they can verify,” Kwaje told reporters in Juba on Tuesday.
Kwaje emphasized the need for law enforcement agencies to receive training as the national parliament processes the cybercrime and computer misuse bill to address cyber-related crime.
“Law enforcement agencies, especially the police, also need to be empowered and bolstered to handle cyber fraud and exploitation in the digital environment in South Sudan,” Kwaje emphasized.
From 2021 to 2024, SafetyComm documented 854 incidents of users' social media accounts being compromised due to fraudulent cyber threats and scam activities in the South Sudan digital environment.
After the victims sought SafetyComm's assistance, they recovered 460 accounts.
However, the victims' complete loss of their account credentials, or their unwillingness to cooperate with our response team, prevented the recovery of 327 accounts. Sixty-seven cases were already worked on but still pending recovery.