On November 8th, 2023, Inspira Advisory & Consulting Limited orchestrated a webinar titled “Strengthening Cybersecurity for Facebook Commerce Businesses.” This event is organized in observance of Global Cybersecurity Awareness Month and aims to bring together esteemed industry mavericks, cybersecurity experts, SME owners, and business leaders. Distinguished speakers provided valuable insights into cybersecurity challenges, legal frameworks, and strategies. The primary goal is to provide a valuable platform for participants to engage in discussions about the risks, mitigation strategies, and future prospects of strengthening the cybersecurity landscape, ultimately creating a safer business environment in Bangladesh.

The event featured insightful discussions from our esteemed Panelists 

• Tanvir Hasan Zoha, Cybersecurity Expert, Assistant Professor, BUBT. As a leader in digital forensic investigation, Tanvir Hasan Zoha has been training various professionals, including members of the Bangladesh Police to strengthen their capacity in combating cyber crimes and financial frauds. He is one of the few experts certified for the Security Operation Centre (SOC) in Bangladesh.
• Irin Parveen, Executive Director of Women and e-commerce Trust (WE). WE works to bring together the e-Commerce industry leaders, academia, entrepreneurs, and other stake-holders and work together to solve various problems of the industry.
• Sabera Anwer, Founder of GoDeshi, , a prominent business leader and the visionary behind Bangladesh’s biggest online selling platform for locally made products.
• Priyom Mojumdar, Co-founder of Pavillion. Pavilion is a one stop platform for sports enthusiasts where news, analysis, Livescore, exclusive sports content, fantasy & interactive games can be enjoyed from different modes like website and mobile app, in the language of Bengali maintaining international standard.
• Saimun Binte Abser, the Research Associate at Inspira, graced the event as the keynote speaker, delivering a captivating and insightful keynote presentation.
• The event was elegantly moderated by Ishrat Ashique, the Communications Executive at Inspira. 

Keynote Speaker Saimun Binte Abser  initiated the event by delving into various facets of cybersecurity. She presented numerous findings from Inspira’s project titled  “SME Cybersecurity Awareness Campaign Design and Implementation” and pointed out the knowledge gap of small business owners regarding cybersecurity threats. According to a 2021 study in Bangladesh, 82 percent of respondents thought that cybersecurity was not important for all,it was only for those who had access to some sensitive data. She mentioned “From our study we found out that only 69 percent MSME respondents have heard of the term cybersecurity. Among them only 43% could identify 1 threat and only 7.7% could identify 4 threats- Phishing, Spam, Malware, Ransomware.This analysis underscores the persistent knowledge gap concerning cyber threats and security measures within this demographic.” The study further revealed that 62% of MSME owners mentioned they had not encountered any cyberattacks and held the perception that they would not face such threats in the future, reasoning that they were not large-scale enterprises. Conversely, the remaining 38% admitted to experiencing cyber threats but refrained from reporting them to the relevant authorities. She also highlighted the reasons why victims of cyber threats often do not report or take legal initiatives, which include the low clarity of GD procedures, lack of reliance on the law enforcement system, and unwillingness to go through the process for an extended period. She concluded her presentation leaving a question to the panelists if there’s any shortcut process to resolve this cyberthreats and how effective and reliable the method might be.

Tanvir Hasan Zoha initiated the panel discussion by echoing the sentiments expressed in the keynote presentation,  He stated that many Facebook business owners began their ventures without adequate knowledge of internet hygiene. He remarked, “Most business owners operating on Facebook, especially women, are unaware of essential details such as who created their Facebook account, the linked email address, and the recovery email address.” So the  lack of internet hygiene knowledge increases the risk of cyberattacks. Again, Sharing personal and sensitive information on facebook, messenger, whatsapp can be used as a cyberthreat.  He then proceeded to share key considerations for all business owners to keep in mind. One key tip he shared, not to keep more than one admin for facebook business pages. It increases the risk of getting hacked. He recommended to the business owners to stay as admin in their own page, if another admin is required,  his/her NID must be kept as additional security measures. He strongly advised against going live from personal Facebook accounts. Instead, for business-related live broadcasts, he recommended utilizing the business page for a more professional and targeted approach. He also stressed the need of using a separate phone number for customer communication. He then shed light on how the police are taking immediate steps in addressing cyber harassment on the internet. In his closing remarks, he advised to reach out to the one stop support desk  “Bebshay Digital Shurokkha” for any kind of cybersecurity enquiry and solution.

In line with the previous discussions, Priyom Mojumdar outlined several examples of common issues faced by business owners through a presentation. His insightful discussion of the frequently faced cyber-related problems included  fake copyright claims, page verification challenges, spam messages regarding page disabling, and fake job hiring posts. He added during discussion, “Facebook never sends ID disabling messages to the page inbox or personal account inbox. These kinds of messages can be considered as spam.” Facebook can delete contents and disable pages if sensitive words are used in the contents. He emphasized the importance of adopting security measures, such as two-factor authentication, maintaining strong passwords, regularly updating passwords, refraining from clicking on random links, and offered various tips to enhance protection against cyber threats. In conclusion, he advised, “It is recommended to diversify your business operating platform beyond Facebook, and if possible, consider establishing a website.“

Irin Parveen further enriched the discussion by delving into the collaborative initiatives of the Women and e-Commerce Trust platform. She discussed the efforts of the Women and e-Commerce Trust platform, comprising 14 lakh members, in consistently promoting cybersecurity awareness through their Facebook groups, events, and workshops. She highlighted the platform’s commitment to educating and empowering members. She added, “We consistently encourage business owners to use original product images in their selling posts to prevent potential copyright issues.” Owing to their awareness sessions, most business owners of this platform now can identify phishing links. They also organize summits to increase the networking among business owners and further enhance the organic growth of their page and refrain them from artificial boosting through fake IDs that can pose threat in the future. She also expressed the significance of various F-commerce business groups saying, “Other groups that consist of SME business owners can provide training and raise awareness about the rules and regulations for operating a business safely on Facebook.” This collaborative approach seeks to enhance the understanding and adherence to cybersecurity measures among businesses.

Sabera Anwer further enriched the discussion by sharing valuable  insights into how the GoDeshi platform actively promotes cybersecurity awareness among its members. She echoed Irin Parveen’s stance on refraining from promoting fake product images and emphasized that the GoDeshi platform also actively discourages and rigorously maintains measures against such practices. They have conducted workshops for entrepreneurs, enlightening attendees on securing their Facebook IDs and business pages. Anwer stated, “We regularly share warnings in our groups and chats to not click on random links.” She emphasized the importance of enabling two-factor authentication and using separate numbers and emails for business purposes.

This insightful webinar ended with a Q&A session where entrepreneurs presented their queries on cybersecurity measures. The panelists skillfully addressed all the concerns and  shared their tips.

See the full webinar: