Building cyber security awareness in a developing country: Lessons from Myanmar

The paper discusses the arguments for inclusion of cybersecurity awareness building in development assistance programs. We note that cybersecurity awareness building can strengthen the resilience of productivity-enhancing services, such as mobile banking and e-payment systems, and benefit economic growth. We develop a typology of cybersecurity strategies involving government, the private sector and the international community. The paper describes an Australian-funded program delivered by Monash University to overcome cyber errorism by strengthening cybersecurity capacity and awareness in Myanmar and explains how and why it was delivered. Drawing on the program’s experience, the paper identifies various challenges to managing an effective program as well as eight lessons learned which might be applicable to other programs. Key amongst the lessons learned is the need for a solid understanding of how the internet is accessed and used in the host country, and the need for local content to attract target audience attention.