"Creating the Culture: Professor's Fulbright Research Examines Cybersecurity Threats Through the Lens of Newly Tech-Reliant Countries"
Maurice Dawson, assistant professor of information technology and management at the Illinois Institute of Technology, used his award from the US Fulbright Scholar Program to investigate cybersecurity issues in developing countries and their global impact. Dawson, who is also the director of Illinois Tech's Center for Cyber Security and Forensics Education, used his fourth Fulbright Scholar award to conduct research and lecture at Botswana International University of Science and Technology. Dawson describes his time in Botswana as an opportunity to discover cybersecurity solutions in countries that are becoming increasingly reliant on technology. Cultural issues complicated technical cybersecurity issues, he discovered. Dawson describes Botswana's people as "extremely trusting." It is a 2.4 million-person country where everyone seems to know everyone. Botswana is also surrounded by neighboring countries with corrupt governments, political instability, and free-roaming scammers, according to Dawson, and it is closely linked to its neighbors. Botswana, for example, collaborates closely with South Africa to meet some of its infrastructure needs, and with Zimbabwe to supplement its labor force. A trusting culture in conjunction with close ties to neighbors can create a difficult cybersecurity environment. Dawson points out that sharing resources with neighbors creates new vulnerabilities. The neighbors are expected to be safe, but this is not always the case. Dawson claims that elements are in place to improve cybersecurity in Botswana. The technological infrastructure has been modernized, allowing cybersecurity measures to be implemented. Part of Dawson's work included investigating cybersecurity issues related to the possibility of using drones employed by the Botswana Defence Force to deter poaching. This article continues to discuss Dawson's research on cybersecurity threats in countries that are becoming more dependent on technology.