Why ignoring cyber awareness could cost South Africa's businesses their future

LET us be honest, when most people hear “cybersecurity”, their minds jump straight to firewalls, passwords, and maybe a stern compliance checklist. However, cybersecurity is no longer the sole domain of IT departments or compliance officers; it’s a shared responsibility that must cut across every layer of an organisation — from leadership to frontline staff.

In South Africa, where digital transformation is accelerating across both public and private sectors, the need to move beyond tick-box compliance and cultivate a culture of cyber awareness has never been more urgent.

As organisations modernise their infrastructure and shift more processes online, they are also widening their exposure to threats that are more sophisticated and unpredictable than ever before.

Cybercriminals today do not rely solely on brute-force attacks or obvious phishing scams. They exploit behavioural gaps, weak internal processes, and moments where employees are distracted, overloaded, or unaware. In such an environment, genuine resilience demands more than a technical defence. It requires an organisation-wide mindset that treats cybersecurity as an ongoing discipline rather than a box to be ticked once a year.

Yes, regulations such as the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have laid the essential foundations for data protection. Yet, compliance alone does not guarantee security. Many organisations may appear compliant on paper but fail to implement meaningful consent protocols or inform stakeholders about how their data is collected and used.

For example, surveillance systems in public and private spaces often lack signage indicating that individuals are being recorded, which is an omission that undermines transparency and violates privacy rights.

This gap between what organisations are required to do and what they actually implement stems from a lack of practical understanding of how privacy, ethics, and security intersect. Many teams view compliance as a document-driven exercise instead of recognising the operational changes it demands.

Clear signage, transparent consent mechanisms, defined data retention policies, and staff who can confidently explain these processes to customers are not bureaucratic extras. They are essential components of digital trust. When organisations neglect these basics, they weaken both their legal standing and their reputation.

This disconnect between policy and practice highlights the broader issue that cybersecurity must be understood not just as a technical or legal requirement, but as a behavioural imperative. Without a culture of awareness, even the most robust systems are vulnerable to human error, negligence, or oversight.

Technology is brilliant at spotting threats. AI, for instance, can sift through mountains of data and flag suspicious behaviour, such as someone logging into a system from two countries at once. But even the smartest tech needs human oversight. AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on, and without thoughtful input, it can make mistakes or even be manipulated.

Human judgement remains the cornerstone of every strong cyber defence. Even with advanced threat detection tools, organisations still rely on people to interpret alerts, validate anomalies, and appropriately escalate risks.

A workforce that understands how attackers operate, what suspicious patterns look like, and how minor lapses can escalate into major incidents is far more effective than any software deployed in isolation. This is why continuous training, scenario-based learning, and regular phishing simulations are no longer optional. They are critical habits that help employees internalise good security behaviour.

That’s why leadership matters. Cyber awareness must be championed at the top, and leaders must create environments where staff feel empowered to ask questions, report concerns, and understand how their actions impact the organisation’s digital safety.

You’ve probably heard the term “zero-trust” floating around. It sounds technical, but at its core, it’s a mindset that says, “trust nothing, verify everything”. It’s not a tool you install but a way of thinking that needs to be embedded across the organisation.

However, the challenge lies with legacy systems and outdated attitudes. Too often, zero-trust is treated as an IT project when it should involve the entire business. It’s about knowing who has access to what, why, and how. And that takes collaboration, not just configuration.

South Africa faces a real challenge in cybersecurity skills, especially in the public sector, where budgets are tight, and legacy systems are standard. But this is where partnerships can shine as OEMs and private sector players have a real opportunity to support government entities with scalable, cost-effective solutions that meet their unique needs.

It’s not about selling a one-size-fits-all product. It’s about listening, understanding pain points, and co-creating strategies that work. When private and public sectors collaborate meaningfully, we don’t just plug gaps; we build resilience.

Creating a culture of cyber awareness is a continuous journey, rather than a one-time initiative. It requires vigilance, accountability, and a shared commitment to protecting the digital commons. In South Africa, where innovation and inclusion are driving new possibilities, cybersecurity must evolve from a reactive posture to a proactive ethos.

By aligning technology with human insight and compliance with culture, organisations can build environments where security is not just enforced but also embraced. In doing so, they lay the groundwork for a digital future that is connected and resilient.

* Tshepo Mokoena is the chairperson at In2IT Technologies.

** The views expressed here do not reflect those of Independent Media, or IOL.

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