Cyber security is everyone's responsibility, say Kazakh experts
Technology evolves at an unprecedented pace today. What is secure today may be vulnerable tomorrow. Ensuring information security is becoming increasingly relevant yet increasingly challenging. Citizens play a key role in this process, as their awareness and active participation are necessary to protect against cyber threats and internet fraud and maintain cyber hygiene. Kazinform News Agency correspondent talked to experts to learn how the public can contribute to this effort.
Alarming data
Data from the Committee on Legal Statistics and Special Accounts of Kazakhstan’s State Property Committee of Kazakhstan shows alarming dynamics. In 2023, almost 44,800 cases of fraud were registered in Kazakhstan, which is 1,300 more than a year earlier.
The number of victims of such crimes is also growing, reaching 46,800 people, which is 8% more than in the previous year.
Particularly alarming is the fact that online fraud is becoming increasingly common. According to the data, about half of all fraud cases in the last three years were committed online. This trend confirms the need to strengthen measures to combat internet fraud.
Pioneering initiative
In an effort to combat financial fraud in Kazakhstan, a program has been introduced. It enables citizens to voluntarily restrict the issuance of loans and microloans to themselves via an application on the e-Government website. Initiated in late August 2023, this program serves a dual purpose: it not only provides a safeguard against financial fraud but also addresses the issue of gambling addiction within the community.
Asel Moldabekova, advisor to the Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry, explains that the program allows each citizen to independently prohibit the issuance of new loans and microloans for a period of up to six months. It is a voluntary measure allowing citizens to decline new loans from banks and microfinance institutions, and it can be activated through the eGov.kz portal or the e-GOV mobile application.
Ruslan Abdikadilov, chairman of the ministry’s Information Security Committee, also emphasizes the importance of this initiative.
“If you need to get a loan, you can always disable this function, get a loan and turn it back on. It will help save your financial resources from the fact that someone can take out a loan on you,” he said.
Civil responsibility
Experts also explored how civil responsibility can foster information security during the Cyber and Digital Security conference on April 4 in Astana.
Dauren Salipov, CEO of MSSP.GLOBAL, a Kazakh developer of products and solutions for ensuring information security and protecting confidential data, highlights the importance of self-awareness and understanding one's own responsibility in cybersecurity.
“Our fight for health is the same in cybersecurity. The more self-aware a person is and understands that it is necessary to maintain their health because it is their asset and needs to be kept strong, the same applies to cybersecurity. Our task, as doctors, is to continue to communicate how to act, what actions should be taken to avoid falling for tricks, how to assist our elderly parents, what password managers are used, and which ones they should use,” he explained.
Similarly, Dmitry Shleifer, director of Business Development at Positive Technologies in the Commonwealth of Independent States, compares taking care of cybersecurity to carefully caring for a car. The company creates innovative solutions for information security.
“You need to perceive your safety, both digital and physical. It is necessary to anticipate all risks and take preventive measures,” he said.
Ekaterina Smyshlyaeva, deputy of the Mazhilis, a lower chamber of the Parliament of Kazakhstan, draws attention to the availability of information security tools and the need to use them.
“They are available, and they, in fact, are even free. However, no one has resorted to them yet. If these tools are not available at all, then responsibility must be taken to protect personal information from someone else,” she said.
Safety of children in the online space
With the rapid growth of the digital landscape, another critical problem is emerging. This is cyberbullying and the safety of children on the internet.
In 2023, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Ministry of Education of Kazakhstan conducted a study titled Kazakhstan Kids Online. It identified the challenges children face online and the importance of protecting them.
Social media and gaming platforms restrict users under 13 years old from creating their own accounts. However, the study shows that 60% of children aged 9-10 and 66% of children aged 11-12 have accounts on social networks, despite the restriction of age being 13 years old to create an account on most social media networks.
The Ministry of Education called for improved digital safety and parental awareness. The research is based on the Global Kids Online project, which investigates children’s interactions with the online space. It showed the importance of children's safety online and parent and teacher education. This is the first study in Kazakhstan on this topic and provides a basis for further measures to protect children in the digital world.
Assel Abykaeva, head of the communications department of the State Technical Service, emphasizes the importance of communicating with children about safety on the internet and instilling in them a sense of respect for themselves and other network users.
"Nowadays, we are absorbing a large volume of information, and a parent can track the dynamics of their child's behavior. If you notice that your child's behavior has changed, it means you need to have a talk, and this is important because children today are not the same as they were even 10 years ago. (...) It is essential for parents to work with their children on not falling for manipulations, for one. Secondly, of course, it is crucial to instill a sense of respect for another person, as well as a sense of self-respect,” she told Kazinform.
Ruslan Abdikadilov said that addressing the problem of cyberbullying and protecting children in the online environment is impossible only with the help of technical means.
“The task of the state is to improve the educational culture of citizens so that they know a lot about this and do not do it. Unfortunately, no technical means will help with this. There is no point in hoping that this will someday be created and the problem will be solved 100%. The most important thing is to educate the people themselves,” he said.
