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Kenya: Security Firm Devises Ways to Stop Computer Thieves And Hackers
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Business Daily (Nairobi)
6 November 2007
Posted to the web 6 November 2007
Beatrice Gachenge
On the eve of 2007, the offices of National Environmental Management Authority at Nairobi South C were broken into and computers with vital data stolen.
In 2006, several government offices, including Jogoo House and the Times Tower offices that house the Kenya Revenue Authority were also broken into and laptops containing crucial tax return data carted away.
Every year, hundreds of lap tops are stolen and with them vital data.
But Mr Andrew Mbiru, a director of Secuplus east Africa, says that should not be the case.
But you need more than a conventional watchman to guard information in your computer.
It was because of that realisation that some three entrepreneurs came up with the idea of providing security to the corporate market-and the business is growing fast .
Business picked up for SecuPlus East Africa, which was founded in 2001, some three years ago when computer thefts became rampant.
But exactly how does SecuPlus provide 24 hour security? " We provide physical security for the desktops as well as laptops by using cables of various intense magnitude that cannot be broken.
The most one can do is deform the cables that are used to attach the desktop to the central processing unit as well as the monitor, meaning that for one to steal the computer, they would have to carry everything including the desk where the computer is placed," said Mr Mbiru, one of the directors of SecuPlus East Africa.
One of the desktop security solutions is the ProLine Kit, which is a formidable 9mm thick cable with a 1.5m cable and a 45mm padlock.
Mr Mbiru said a determined thief would take hours to cut the cable with a new pair of pliers. Most burglars do not have that time.
He said the firm can get cables in various colours, lengths and extra anchor points to suit the office décor. The desk anchors provide an easy, secure place to moor the cable.
Another solution for the desktops is the extreme Line Cable, which weighs in with a formidable 12mm cable for those with greater security concerns.
"We have a provision for a master-key that can be used in the corporate setting where the authorisation of the keys lies with the IT manager.
In this case, subsequent orders will come with locks compatible to the original master-key," said Mr Mbiru. For most business people, especially medium and small enterprises, laptop security is paramount.
The company has various solutions to suit the needs of entrepreneurs.
One of the cables that is used to ensure security does not require a key to lock.
Just pushing the set button locks up the laptops. It is complete with a swivel cable and 360 degrees rotating body. Besides, there are 10,000 combination resettable locks that one can use interchangeably.
" CompuLock and UniLocks work by replacing screws at the back of the computer where the UniLocks in the security kit are designed for use with most flat panel monitors, LCD and Plasma TV's that are mounted on a wall support," said Mr Mbiru.
But as Mr Henry Uwiti, Celtel Kenya IT manager, explained to Business Daily, the company has invested in 150 cables for their employees who used laptops, mainly the sales, technical and some of the managers who have replaced their desktops with portable computers. "We secure the laptops mainly to stop thefts in the office."
Mbiru says companies that have been hit by computer theft were always receptive to their ideas.
The firm now boasts of more than 50 clients ranging from corporates, institutions and government offices.
But why invest so much in private security for the computers, yet the companies have guards in the building? Computers today are valued much more for the information they carry than for their purchase price.
Even the best insurance policies are not able to fully compensate for loss of data, resultant downtime, start-up costs and, in the worst case, corporate espionage.
"It is therefore, left to companies to devise the best measures possible to guard against loss of computers. Such measures take up valuable time and resources, for example backup systems and mirror servers," said Mbiru,
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"All of them, however, depend on the continued vigilance and goodwill of all the company employees."
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| Copyright © 2007 Business Daily. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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