Cybersecurity awareness month comes to a close: A call to action for digital safety

28 October 2025, 3:04 pm

Byamukama Alozious

As October Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes nearly to an end, stakeholders in Uganda’s financial sector, government, and public are reflecting on the importance of online safety and security. Milima Security, a leading cybersecurity firm, recently hosted a symposium at Nakawa Innovation Hub under ministry of ICT to raise awareness about cybersecurity threats and promote digital safety.

According to Emanuel Chagara, CEO of Milima Security, many Ugandans are vulnerable to online threats due to a lack of seriousness about cybersecurity. “Most frauds in Uganda are personal errors, like poor passwords, sharing of PINs, and organizational internal workers who collude with wrong people to steal data,” Chagara revealed.

The symposium followed a number of activities both local and national which emphasized the crucial role of reporting cybercrime incidents to relevant authorities. Chagara stressed that prompt reporting can prevent further losses and enable law enforcement agencies to take action. “If you’re being defrauded, whether on a banking platform or mobile platform, you must report it to the provider and then to the police if there’s no recourse,” he advised.

Albert Gita, Chief Information Officer of MTN Mobile Money, noted that fraudsters are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to commit crimes. “The fraudsters have become very digital aware, and some of them are very sophisticated, right? And they are taking advantage of the less technologically savvy customers, or people, because mobile money is a tool for the non-people that were previously left out of the digital economy.”

As Cybersecurity Awareness Month comes to a close, stakeholders are urging individuals and organizations to prioritize digital safety and take proactive steps to protect themselves and their communities from the growing threat of cybercrime.