Aug 24 2008

Microsoft Internet Safety, Security and Privacy Initiative for Nigeria

Summary

Responding to the fact that Nigeria is the third most active country in promulgating Internet scams, Microsoft has launched a campaign in Nigeria to raise awareness about Internet safety. The effort consists of a day of entertaining events such as music groups and multimedia presentations intended to raise awareness; sensitization workshops in three schools; and a follow up project. The follow-up project will place selected young people, who have been identified as having participated in cybercrime, through a three to six month process of training, internship, and employment as software developers at various software companies.

My thoughts I applaud the intent behind the initiative to address Internet crime in Nigeria. The need is clear – the label Nigerian Scam¹ has become the universal term for one form of online financial fraud.

However, no matter how sincere the attempt, the idea that providing workshops in three schools, holding a one-day media blitz to draw attention to the issue of Internet safety, and identifying a small number young cyber-criminals for a follow up project that retrains them as software developers could be effective might be considered almost quaintly naïve - if the problem wasn’t so severe.

Today many Nigerian young people frequent Internet cafes to reap benefits off easy online scams. Generating an awareness campaign to teach these criminals that crime hurts others is absurd. They already know what they are doing is criminal, as do their family, friends, victims, and their society. In addition, making this an edutainment event undercuts the importance of the message.

The most likely outcome of providing improved software development skills to these kids is that they will become capable of committing much more sophisticated crimes. When they have been brought up in a disenfranchised environment, when there is serious money to be made as cyber-criminals, when the risk of punishment remains slim, and when there are vast quantities of gullible and greedy potential victims (the number of Internet users worldwide grew from 4.4 million to 1.4 billion between 1991 and 2008) most criminals will continue to commit crimes.

A real solution to global Internet crime requires 1) improving the economic and educational foundation in countries where criminals flourish so that abiding by laws has greater benefits than a life of crime. 2) Creating internationally standardized laws to address Internet crime. 3) Providing global law enforcement training and building international cooperation to effectively fight Internet crime.

First World countries could provide leadership online, but so far we have failed to come to agreement about standardizing laws, extradition, or training of law enforcement officers. And we have failed the millions of people who struggle on the brink of starvation, plus the billions who do not have real opportunity to improve their lives through legitimate means.

If we really want a safer online environment, an ‘awareness initiative’ in Nigeria is not going to cut it. It is about as useful as putting a Band-Aid on a cancer patient.

¹ What is a Nigerian Scam? Nigerian scams run along the lines of ‘a wealthy foreigner (or relative, friend…) needs your help transferring money and promises you a huge reward for your efforts’…those who are lured by the promise of quick money end up losing thousands, to hundreds of thousands of dollars.