Cybersecurity Meets Culture – Cameroonian on-ground Research Event

On 6^th of December the TPH-funded research between the FHNW Competence Center Digital Trust and Biaka University Institute of Buea (BUIB) resulted in a large on-ground event at the Cameroonian campus.

Introduction and welcome

As a start, Prof. Fonkeng (BUIB) and Prof. Dr. Bettina Schneider (FHNW) stressed the relevance of international collaboration and elaborated on cybersecurity as a global concern of rising importance.

Presentation of joint research

One core of the event was the presentation of the joint study results. The research uplifted factors of national culture that impact cybersecurity behavior. The cultural model of Hofstede, the Iceberg Theory and Schein’s Layers of Organisational Culture were used as cornerstones; the qualitative study design applied literature review, episodic interviews, and focus groups for data collection and used an intense round of coding to derive essential categories.

The following figure shows a selection of factors identified based on the Cameroonian study data set

The rich set of findings were integrated into recommendations for integrating cultural elements into cybersecurity education. The framework serves to industry and academia.

Expert Talks on Cybersecurity

A series of experts talks from both institutions enriched the event.

• Dr. Stephen Ndode, Lecturer of Journalism and Mass Media at BUIB, raised general awareness of cyberthreats and how to protect. Among elaborating the most common motivations and entry points of attackers, he introduced the audience to the five stages of awareness – Unaware, Problem Aware, Solution Aware, Product Aware, Most Aware.
• Herman Grieder, Lecturer and Researcher at the Competence Center Digital Trust, opened his talk with a global view on the cybersecurity ecosystem and then deep dived into specifics of the Swiss market – e.g. by pointing out recent attacks and explaining technological and organizational security measure of the FHNW. He ended with recommendation for building an organizational cybersecurity culture.
• Dr. Nkemeni Valery, Lecturer of Engineering and Technology at the University of Buea, finished with impressive case studies of cultural and individual hacks. In line with our research, he pointed the audience to the cultural nuances of successful phishing attacks. He ended by encouraging all participants to take responsibility.

Closing

Towards the closing of the event, there was a possibility for questions towards the experts. This turned out to be a very lively discussion where participants stepped out and shared their personal experiences of cyberattacks.

Finally, after an intense morning, the participants received a personalized certificate of attendance. We all left with a rich set of new insights and food for thought.