Cybercrime : Permanent Threat

Cyber criminality has been on the rise recently in Cameroon with digital pages of public authorities and influential personalities allegedly hacked for dubious purposes. The most recent of such was when officials of the Cameroon Electoral Board announced that the institution’s digital platform was invaded by cybercriminals. This caused an uneasy calm within the political class. 
According to a release signed by the Chair of the Electoral Board, Enow Abrams Egbe “A Group of ill-intentioned individuals hacked into the official Facebook Account of ELECAM on the night of Tuesday 23rd June 2020 at 10:22pm and posted false information that goes against the functions and ethics of ELECAM.” The hacked account had as profile image, leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, Professor Maurice Kamto with the inscription: “The Truth Shall Always Prevail. It’s Just a Matter of Time.” Meanwhile, ELECAM’s official website is also allegedly attacked. Officials of ELECAM declined responsibility over any of such information the public might have received. Some years back, cyber criminals hacked the website of the Presidency of the Republic. In a press release, the then Minister of Communication and government’s spokesperson said the presidential website was under cyber attack. 
High personalities in the country are often victims of cybercriminals with unscrupulous individuals creating fake accounts bearing their names to extort money. Such is the case with the numerous Facebook and twitter accounts of government ministers seen on social media.  Most of these ministers say they are not on social media. The phone numbers of these top government officials are also under recurrent attacks from scammers. Some months back, one of the phone numbers of the Minister of Mines, Industries and Technological Development, Gabriel ...