Experts tip top 100 mid-sized companies on cyber security

Firms participating in the 2023 Top 100 mid-sized Companies Survey have been advised to embrace cyber security measures to avoid the vulnerabilities that can cripple their businesses.

Speaking at a technology forum organised by KPMG and Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U) yesterday, Ms Priscilla Mutebi, the data protection officer of Huawei Technologies Limited, said since small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute 90 percent of the economy, it is very important for them to embrace measures to safeguard themselves from cyberattacks.

“We organised this forum to educate SMEs on the measures they should use to protect themselves and their employees from cyber-attacks. Cyber Security starts with mobile phones, computers, and emails. This could lead to revenue and reputational loss. As long as you are not aware of cyber security the threats are many,” she said.

She explained that recent Police reports indicate that over Shs20 billion was lost to cybercrime due to, among others, misuse of phone and computer passwords leading to easy access to company data, emails, and any other company secret information.

Asked what the threat levels look like, she said the cyberattacks and threats have become more frequent and more damaging, which calls for carefulness, thoughtfulness, and intentionality when dealing with them.

She advised that where necessary, SMEs should borrow external expertise to boost and test their defence mechanisms,share information and that they should invest in setting up security infrastructure like firewalls and regular software updates.

Mr Fred Kakooza, the acting director of the Uganda Investment Authority one stop centre, said even after the Covid-19 lockdown, which they thought had pushed many businesses to operate online, they realised that Ugandans companies have not yet embraced technology, forcing them to come up with an SMEs portal where Ugandan SMEs can register so as to take advantage of the benefits of technology.

Mr Benson Mwesigwa, the associate director of the advisory department at KPMG Uganda, said as the biggest job creators and taxpayers providing solutions to the majority of problems in the country, they partnered with the Ministry of Tourism, Huawei Technologies, and the Innovations Village to enable products manufactured by the SMEs to access far away markets, to help them embrace digital transformation and also scale their businesses.

“Today people are using technology to find where to buy nice suits, and where to get good interior designers. But as SMEs embrace technology to improve productivity and automate, they should be mindful of the risks that come with digital transformation,” he said.

Mr Mwesigwa said simple mistakes like careless posting of personal pictures on the internet can result in individuals losing control of their personal information and also breaches their right to privacy.  He has urged SMEs to also take extra care when dealing with online systems.

KPMG and NMG-U will be hosting the 2023 annual survey conference to discuss the survey findings on November 30. 

The winners will be announced on December 1.

About the survey 
The Uganda Top 100 mid-sized companies’ survey is an initiative of KPMG and the Nation Media Group-Uganda (NMG-U). It has been conducted since 2009 in Uganda. Uganda Investment Authority (UIA),  dfcu bank and ICEA group and other partners have since joined as sponsors of the event.

The purpose of survey is to identify Uganda’s fastest growing medium sized companies in order to show case business excellence and highlight some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurship stories.

According to UIA, participation in the annual competition is vital for SMEs to grow and graduate to the Top 100 club during the last 10 years.  A company must have a turnover range Shs360 million to Shs25 billion, among others, to qualify for the survey.