Digital Lending and Information System Security in Kenya
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Date
2021Author
Onsando, Catherine M
Type
ThesisLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Today, information is regarded as a valuable resource for any organization and with the advent
of globalization and ever-changing technologies, the need for information security is becoming
more and more critical. The importance of information system security is getting more
noteworthy as firms are becoming reliant on information technology. While originally
information security was regarded as a technology hiccup that could be addressed through
refined hardware together with software answers, rise in the number of security gaps
demonstrates that this is also a people problem. The overall objective of this study was to
establish adoption of information system security among digital lenders in Kenya. The specific
objectives were to determine information security threats faced by digital lenders, information
security measures adopted by digital lenders and establish challenges faced by digital lenders
in securing their information systems. The population of the study was the 29 registered digital
lenders in April 2021. Primary data was collected through the use of closed ended
questionnaires. Out of the 29 questionnaires administered, 16 were received back resulting in
a 55.17% response rate. Data was analysed through the use of mean, standard deviation and
factor analysis. The study findings revealed that the major information security threat faced by
digital lenders was phishing. To counter threats in the sector, the three major information
security measures adopted by digital lenders were automatic logout policy for workstations
after a predetermined period of inactivity; password complexity requirements policy to ensure
every password meets minimum required threshold of length, characters, numbers and
symbols; and application of firewalls that enforce a secure boundary between the internal
network and the Internet. The study findings also revealed that there were two major challenges
faced by digital lenders in securing their information systems namely lack of awareness by
customers on the risk of sharing their passwords and lack of information security awareness
amongst customers. Recommendations to digital lenders are to enhance customers’ awareness
on the risk of sharing their passwords and to be more security conscious as they use digital
lending systems. In addition, digital lenders should enforce security measuares as such
automatic logout, password complexity requirements policy and application of firewalls.
Publisher
University of Nairobi
Subject
Information System SecurityRights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United StatesUsage Rights
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/Collections
- School of Business [1411]
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