Addressing E-crime & Computer Security Issues in Homes & Small Organizations in South Africa

While small organizations are encouraged to adopt e-commerce, the impact of ecrime and the growing negative attitude of these organisations towards good security practices have been ignored. This study investigated e-crime and computer security issues facing small organizations and home Internet users in South Africa. The purpose was to report on the current state of these issues as well as help raise the level of security awareness. The data was collected via a questionnaire developed using the NSTISSC security model. Our findings show a strong association between lack of a security policy and occurrence of virus attacks. Many small organisations are more vulnerable than they realize. They operate vulnerable operating systems, rely on basic security mechanisms and possess little knowledge of cyber risks and security standards. Several recommendations oriented at inducing these organisations to adopt good security practices are provided in form of a security guideline.