Promoting Cybersecurity: Cyber Resilience

WATCH THE RECORDING HERE

Through the IVLP Impact Awards initiative, recent alumni of the International Visitor Leadership Program administer community impact projects that bring the experiences of their exchange program home to their communities and promote innovative solutions to shared global challenges. 

On Wednesday October 9, 2024, Meridian International Center hosted a virtual panel of IVLP Impact Awardees with projects that empower communities by fostering awareness, knowledge, and practical strategies to enhance digital security. The panel was moderated by Dr. Tilen Gorenšek (Slovenia) and featured panelists Awder Ahmed (Iraq), Jovan Kljajić (Montenegro) and Osazee Isonarae (Nigeria).

1. Creating Digital Inclusion

The session began with remarks from Joanna LaHaie, Director of International Engagement & Capacity Building in the International Cyberspace Security Policy Unit of the U.S. Department of State's Cyberspace and Digital Policy Bureau. She opened by remarking, "Given the growing role of technology...it's really critical that we, together as international partners, build a sense of digital solidarity....we are more secure, we're resilient, we're more self-determining and prosperous when we work together to shape today's and tomorrow's digital ecosystem." With this setting the tone, each panelist shared how their unique projects reach various communities in their countries because, as Awder put it, "I believe that the diversity in tech is essential for driving innovation and addressing complex goals and challenges." This belief drove Awder to design his IVLP Impact Award project around equipping women in Iraq to confidently enter and become leaders in the field of cybersecurity. Both Tilen and Jovan's projects focused on youth because, as Jovan explained, "The youth are the most vulnerable category when it comes to cybersecurity because of their activity on the internet and also because they don't have enough information." In Nigeria, Osazee's target audience is youth and small business owners, with the goal to "use digital tools to promote their business and at the same time providing the knowledge to help them secure their businesses as well."

2. IVLP Inspiration and Collaboration

Jovan's IVLP project, called Cybersecurity Capacity Building, was organized by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with Global Ties San Francisco, while Tilen's Promoting Cybersecurity II was organized by Meridian, in collaboration with WorldBoston, World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, Columbia Council for Internationals, and Utah Global Diplomacy. Tilen shared, "Based on my experience, based on the travels...based on the conversations, the discussions that I had, it empowered me to basically find the necessary resources...to do this project." Osazee participated in the IVLP project Advancing an Open, Reliable, and Secure Digital Economy, organized by the Institute for International Education, in partnership with Global Ties Iowa, Global Ties San Francisco, Global Ties Sacramento, the World Affairs Council of New Hampshire, and the New York Program Branch. Awder's IVLP was called Cybersecurity and IT Curriculum Development, organized by FHI 360 in partnership with GlobalPittsburgh, San Antonio Council for International Visitors, Vermont Council on World Affairs, and Utah Global Diplomacy. Osazee and Jovan also mentioned how they, as IVLP alumni, have received ongoing support from their local U.S. embassy/consulate while implementing their projects. In addition to utilizing the American Corners space, Osazee was honored to have the Consulate General attend his launch event in Lagos, where he shared personal experiences of the importance of cybersecurity. Similarly, Jovan collaborated with his local U.S. embassy to incorporate added elements, such as a quiz after his event, among other collaborations.

3. Growing Interest and Relevance of Cybersecurity

The topic of cybersecurity is only growing in relevance in today's ever-more digital world. Osazee shared about the Nigerian context: "Particularly because there seems to be an increase in the unemployment rate and there's been a very challenging economic crisis with inflation, you know, and this has given room for many young people to resort to cybercrimes." Osazee saw this increase first-hand during one of his workshops: "There were two reports of cyber-attacks on people's devices. I mean, just while we were having the program!"

This increased threat environment has prompted a surge in interest in cybersecurity both from the user's perspective and as a career path, which Awder focused on. For example, he shared that "in just two days, I got more than 300 requests from the students and alumni and graduates to attend those workshops." Osazee had a similar experience, "Although our project [was] initially targeted to young people and small business owners...We heard other people who want to be part of our program, you know, so we get calls and messages, people asking 'can we be part of the program?'... This is why we have made the conference we're hosting currently a hybrid session" to accommodate this increased interest.

4. Strategies for Engagement

Given the topic's relevance, the panelists did not struggle with audience engagement; instead, they focused on how to convey their messages effectively within the often chaotic cyber environment. Tilen pointed out, "we have to have in mind that cybersecurity, it's a very abstract, very abstract thing...if you get burned by fire, you feel the pain...you see the consequences. But that isn't always the case when it comes to cybersecurity. So, it's that [much] more important to basically make the basic principles as understandable as possible." Awder added that it is essential to consider the situations relevant to the specific audience, given that "women face unique barriers in accessing opportunities within the tech industry" and therefore, his program focuses on both the technical skill training and on leadership ability. Additionally, since his participants aim to pursue cybersecurity professionally, Awder's program is also "designed to align with the current industry need and emerging trends in cybersecurity and ICT." Jovan, whose participants come from the user's perspective, includes "practical simulations of cyberattacks" in his project, which, in addition to the educational workshops, teach the students critical contexts for the cyber landscape. After the seminar, "our students understand the risks now much better: attacks such as phishing, malware...a lot of them are now using these security measures in their everyday lives, for example using strong passwords, regular updates, and careful recognition of suspicious emails...during our workshop they very frequently give us examples of where they were victims of cyber-attacks and then we...help them [with] how to handle these kinds of situations in the future if they were affected again." Osazee agreed and shared that practical demonstration is a strategy he also uses to underscore cybersecurity's importance, saying "cybercrime is more like an organized crime and people can kind of underestimate and underrate the ability of their system to be so porous and for them to get attacked."

5. The Importance of Digital Solidarity

Joanna's framing concept of collaboration and the need for digital solidarity came up throughout the session. Jovan talked about spreading the knowledge gained beyond the participants, explaining that they "transfer their acquired knowledge to their parents, to their peers, they talk about the things that they learned in school, which contributes to a spread of [a] cybersecurity culture." Awder agreed, mentioning the importance of evaluation and feedback from the participants back to the trainers, as well, to continue improving the program. Awder also touched on the importance of "collaborating with the university's industry partners and the international organization [to] help build, let's say, a strong support network. So, these partnerships provide additional resources and expertise, allowing the program to evolve and adapt over the time." Osazee also brought up the importance of collaborating with local associations, as he did with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, which was able to "engage their audience ...because they have the network of small business owners across Nigeria" which helped to broaden the reach of his program. Tilen summed things up and closed the session by remarking, "We learn that it is very important to have partnerships, local partnerships, international partnerships, it doesn't matter, you can't do it alone. You have to connect with somebody."

"If you get burned by fire, you feel the pain...you see the consequences. But that isn't always the case when it comes to cybersecurity. So, it's that [much] more important to basically make the basic principles as understandable as possible." - Dr. Tilen Gorenšek

If you have any questions, please reach out to the IVLP Impact Awards Team at IVLPImpactAwards@meridian.org

If interested in attending more IVLP Impact Award events, click here.