The Information, Communication Technology (ICT) Directorate of the Public Procurement & Disposal of Assets (PPDA) conducted an in-house Cybersecurity training session for all members of staff amidst growing concerns about cybercrimes and data breaches.

Director of ICT Paul Katema, said the training was important to ensure safety of the members and Office data in their daily work routines, stressing that users are the first line of defense as they interact with the digital space.

He added that considering the sensitive nature of the information that the Authority handles there is need for members at all levels to be equipped with necessary skills to recognize, prevent and respond to threats such as Phishing, Data Breaches and Ransomware among others.

“Some of the Cyber Risks that we run into, are a result of the normal activities that we do on our gadgets like cellphones and laptops, so the insights we are sharing are for us all to stay on guard,” he said.

ICT Manager Jakob Mtitimila who facilitated the training, corroborated Katema and implored on all PPDA Staff to utilize the knowledge shared and to be on the lookout for insider threats such as data leaks.

He emphasized that the training was timely, since the Malawi National Electronic Procurement System (MANePS) is operational.

“We are also emphasizing on the need to safeguard against AI powered cyber threats that leverage Artificial Intelligence and natural language processing to deceive and compromise individuals, organizations, and systems,” Mtitimila explained.

He thus tipped the participants to use company-approved USBs/software only on their computers, update windows regularly, review App permissions and locking devices when not in use among other measures.