The rapid growth of cybercrimes affecting information systems in the global: is this a myth or reality in Tanzania?

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to determine whether the rapid growth of cybercrimes affecting information systems in the global: is a myth or reality in Tanzania. The study was undertaken using a mixed research methods. The research findings reveal that 12.8 % of users are victims of cybercrimes due to visiting unhealthy websites in cyberspace, more than 90.89% of users have been denied access to torrents/p2p applications (with malicious codes); and more than 63.29% of e-mails received by users are spam. It has been noted that Internet users has risen to 5.63 million users in 2012 out of 46.9 million of population in Tanzania; and is increasing at the rate of 416.98% per year thus expectation of 7.34 million users of Internet by December 2015. The increase in the number of Internet users has direct implication to the increase in cybercrimes affecting information systems. The Government of Tanzania has declared that “about 320 people were apprehended between July and December 2011of which over 1bn/- , Euro 8,897 and USD 551,777 reported to have been stolen through cyber”. The study concluded that there is a need for a holistic approach in addressing cybercrimes in a developing country like Tanzania.