=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1830/Paper84
|storemode=property
|title=Cybercafés in Nigeria: Curse to the Internet?
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1830/Paper84.pdf
|volume=Vol-1830
|authors=Oluwafemi Osho,Solomon A. Adepoju
}}
==Cybercafés in Nigeria: Curse to the Internet?==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1830/Paper84.pdf
International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Its Applications
(ICTA 2016)
Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
November 28 – 30, 2016
Cybercafés in Nigeria: Curse to the Internet?
Oluwafemi Osho1 and Solomon A. Adepoju2
1
Department of Cyber Security Science, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
2
Department of Computer Science, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
{1femi.osho, 2solo.adepoju}@futminna.edu.ng
Abstract—Cybercafés have grown in popularity since their relatively cheap access to internet. They have even been
emergence. This popularity is predicated on their capacity to proposed as an essential component for social security [8].
offer relatively cheap, immediate and convenient access to the However, similar to other information technology (IT)
internet. Regrettably, cybercriminals, and even terrorists, have components, cybercafés are prone to abuse. Like all
been exploiting them to perpetrate their unwholesome networks on the internet, their networks are exposed to
activities. This study evaluates the security posture of security risks. In a study by [7], 80% of cybercafé operators
cybercafés in Nigeria. Using a combination of survey and identified malware, while 20% identified the users, as their
observation, a total of ninety nine cybercafés, covering nine biggest threat. A cybercafé network has to contend with risks
states, in five of the six geopolitical zones of the country, were
from those within and outside the network. There are users
covered. The findings suggest that most of the cybercafés have
adequate capacity to prevent unauthorized access to their
whose intent is to exploit the systems in the café for
network, and the exploitation of the network to remotely unethical purposes. When appropriate security mechanisms
perpetrate cybercrimes. However, within the physical confines are not in place, the network of such cybercafé could be used
of most of the internet cafes, cybercrimes are and could easily to perpetrate cybercrime, including installing a keylogger
be carried out, and their networks exploited for other unethical [13], spamming, fraud, hacking, to mention but few. On the
uses of the internet. Security needs to be given more attention other hand, there are malicious internet users, outside the
than it currently enjoys in the management of cybercafés by network of the café, who intrude into vulnerable networks.
managers. On the other hand, government must ensure the There are many potential attacks that could be launched. One
regulation of the activities of the sector. of these is remotely infecting vulnerable systems with
malware that automatically adds them to a botnet operated
Keywords-cybercafé; internet café; Nigeria; management, by the attacker. The bots are used for criminal activities.
security; cybercrime Even terrorists use cybercafés [14]. The internet has become
indispensable to terrorists for planning and coordinating their
attacks [15]. Internet café offers a platform for the terrorist to
I. INTRODUCTION veil their identities.
Cybercafés, also known as internet cafes, are public Apart from users who have malicious intents for using
places that provide commercial – paid or metered – access to the café, another category of user that needs proper
the internet [1]–[5]. However, it is not unlikely to see other monitoring is children. Online attacks that target children are
services including selling refreshments [2] being rendered. continually on the increase. Cybercafés have been
This is common in advanced countries where cybercafés discovered to be locations for different adolescent crimes [6]
offer not only internet access, but also beverages [1], [6] or and social excesses [16].
food and other types of drinks [7]. Depending on the Most internet café users have little or no knowledge of
business model, types of cybercafé include traditional the security risks they are exposed to and how to mitigate the
internet cafés, gaming, self-serve internet cafés, standalone risks [2]. It therefore lies on the managers of the cybercafés
internet kiosks, information and advertising-based kiosks, to provide adequate security. To achieve the needed security,
and wireless hotspots [3]. there are requirements that must be provided. Some of these
Since the emergence of internet cafes, they have grown include surveillance/security system, legal software [17],
in popularity. In Africa and most developing countries, firewalls, antivirus software, making regular backup of data,
internet access is largely through cybercafés [7]–[10]. A and up-to-date updating of applications [1].
survey by [11] reveals that for up to 25% of students in However, studies have shown that security is often not
Turkey cybercafé was the dominant place for accessing the given due attention. Cybercafés engage staff who are
internet. Li, Zhang, Lu, Zhang, & Wang [12] found out that unskilled, with little or no IT knowledge [18], [19].While
while internet café was the 2nd most commonly used place many of the cafes have anti-malware applications, few
for internet access among elementary and middle school regularly update them [2]. And in most cybercafés,
students in China, it was the most used among those who articulated policies guiding activities of users are often not
were found to be internet addict. Internet cafes provide many available [7]. In cases where there are they are often not
advantages. They offer convenient [6], immediate, and comprehensive [2].
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In Nigeria, internet cafes have contributed tremendously management software was the focus of [28], [29].The
to digital inclusion. Since the deregulation of the objectives of other studies in the domain of cybercafé
telecommunication sector in 1999 [20], and the introduction management include management of e-waste by cybercafés
of the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication [30], factors that affect provision of quality services [31],
services in 2001 [21], [22], the adoption rate of mobile evaluation of technical efficiency of internet access methods
technology in the country has proliferated. This, used in the cafes [32], and identification of factors
unfortunately, has resulted in cybercafés losing their place as responsible for closure of cybercafés [33].
the primary platform used for accessing the internet. One of Studies on cybercafé usage majorly center on rate,
the effects is the demise of many of these cybercafés in the purposes and effects of, and factors that affect use. Very few
country [18]. This sharp drop in number and patronage of the studies have explored internet café usage effects. One
notwithstanding, because not all users can afford internet of these is the work of [16] which investigated the effect of
access through mobile and other personal devices, existing usage on cigarette smoking and alcohol use among Chinese
and functioning cybercafés have continued to enjoy some adolescents and youth. Another, by [34], entails a survey on
measure of patronage. As is the case in other parts of the the consequences of internet café usage on students’ social
world, they are used for their traditional purposes of capital. And in [35], the effects of playing computer games
researching, sending and accessing emails, communicating, in internet cafes on the flow experiences of adolescents was
job search and application, to mention but few. In some investigated.
academic environments cybercafés are the primary On the other hand, studies on rate and purposes of usage
instrument for accessing the internet [7], [23], [24]. have considered different countries. These include China
Regrettably, while internet cafes have improved the [36], Indonesia [37], Malaysia [38], Nigeria [39], [40],
adoption of IT in the country, they have also helped to Pakistan [10], Philippines [41], Tanzania [42], Tanzania and
multiply its abuses. Teenagers use cybercafés as havens for Indonesia [43], and Turkey [44]. On factors that affect use,
accessing pornographic materials, scammers utilize them for [45] proposed a framework with perceived trust as
their criminal activities, sending out scam emails [25]–[27]. antecedent of internet café continuance intention.
Many cybercafés have been sealed off by security agencies The issue of security of internet cafes is very crucial to
due to the perpetration of cybercrimes using the café network their survival. It is therefore not surprising that this area has
[7]. And in some cases, the activities of criminal have led to attracted the attention of some authors. Specifically, some of
their outright shutting down [18]. the studies discussed security issues related to cybercafé use
In the light of the foregoing realities, we pose some and operation, highlighting sources and types of security
critical questions: Do internet cafes in Nigeria have the risks, and proffering countermeasures [1], [2].The focus of
capacity to prevent unauthorized access to their network? Do [8] was the development of cybercafé security policy in
they have the capacity to prevent their systems from being Nigeria. This, the author argued, can enhance social security.
used locally or remotely to perpetrate cybercrimes? Are they Consequently, it was recommended that such policy should
likely locations for other unethical uses of the internet? This be integrated into the National Information Policy. Another
paper investigates management of cybercafés in Nigeria, similar study by [46] centered on the development of
with emphasis on security. regulation of internet cafes in China. However, one study
This study is significant in at least two ways. First, it [47] departed from the traditional notion of the security of
exposes the security state of internet cafes in Nigeria. While cybercafé being solely dependent on technological
there are laws that tend to relate indirectly to different infrastructure. They proposed security measures that, in
activities that are associated with cybercafés in Nigeria, there addition to technological mechanism, are also based on
are currently no known comprehensive guidelines on the social and soft components of management. Other aspects of
establishment and operations of cybercafé. This study, security explored in different literatures include malware
secondly, would assist relevant policy and regulatory detection and prevention [48], [49], security evaluation [50],
agencies of government in the development of regulatory cybercafés and cybercrimes [19], [51]–[54], and cybercafé
framework for the operations and management of cybercafés and terrorism [14].
in Nigeria. As far as research related to cybercafé is concerned
The rest of the paper is sectionalized as follows: section security has not been given due attention [8]. Very few
two presents a summary of studies related to internet cafes. studies have centered on the state of security in internet cafes
In section three, the methodology adopted is described. The using empirical data. One of these is the study by [18]. The
findings are presented in section four. Subsequently, these authors investigated physical and security issues faced by
findings are discussed is section five. The limitations of the managers of cybercafés in Ibadan, and measures to tackle the
study are highlighted and suggestions for further works challenges. They however recommended similar research
given in section six. Lastly, in section seven, the study is across the country.
concluded, and some recommendations suggested. Our study examines security measures provided by
internet café managers to prevent unauthorized access to
II. RELATED WORKS their network, mitigate perpetration of cybercrimes via and
other unethical uses of their networks.
Many literatures have focused on different aspects of
internet café, including their management, use, effect of
usage, and security. III. METHODOLOGY
On the management of cybercafés, [4] concentrated on To achieve the aim of this study, descriptive research was
the management of infrastructures, [7] on operational issues, adopted. Two methods were employed to collate data: survey
controversies, and challenges, while discussion of and observation. To collect data that were considerably
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representative of the country, the stratified random sampling maximum of 3 attendants offered introductory classes for
method was used. Nigeria is composed of geopolitical zones, novice users. Conversely, among those with a minimum of 4
with each composed of states which are essentially operators, an average of 77.93% offered introductory classes.
homogeneous. Consequently, this formed the basis for
stratification. For each stratum, random samples were TABLE II. NUMBER OF SYSTEMS USED FOR BROWSING AND CAFÉ
ATTENDANTS
selected from at least one of the component states. The
objective was to cover at least a state in each of the six Frequency Percent
geopolitical zones of the country. A total of ninety nine Number of systems used for browsing
internet cafes, located in nine states, in five of the zones 1-5 18 18.2
(with the exception of North East) were covered in the 6 - 10 43 43.4
survey. The survey was conducted within 2013 and 2014. 11 - 15 25 25.3
Above 15 13 13.1
Table I presents the composition of cybercafés by state and Total 99 100.0
zone.
The survey questions were administered through Number of café attendants
questionnaires. Observation was used to ascertain the 1 19 19.2
correctness of the data supplied by the managers/operators. 2 32 32.3
3 20 20.2
The questionnaire sought information on the number of 4 17 17.2
systems used for browsing and café attendant, availability of 5 4 4.0
wireless access technology, those permitted to use the Above 5 7 7.1
cybercafé, availability of introductory class for novice users, Total 99 100.0
permissions, security measures, and managers’ observations
and experiences. The ninety nine questionnaires were
returned, found to be valid, and thus used for analysis. To A. Permissions
identify relationships among variables, we performed some Table III also reveals the some basic activities a customer
statistical tests, including chi-square, t-test, Fisher’s exact is permitted by managers to undertake in the cybercafé.
test, and Pearson’s correlations. All tests were conducted at 78.8% of the cafes permit saving on their computer memory,
95% confidence interval. 79.8% allowed customers to use their personal external
memory drive to save. Most of the cafes equally permit the
IV. ANALYSIS use of their systems to make payment online (87.9%) and
download from the internet (86.9%).
The findings, presented in Table II, revealed that Perhaps, to mitigate downloading of malicious and illegal
majority of the cybercafés, 61.6% operate with no more than software documents, more than half, precisely 51.2%, of the
10 computers. Only 13.1% have above 15 systems. Most of cafés that allow downloading required customers to obtain
the cybercafés (71.7%) did not have more than 3 café authorization before actually downloading.
attendants. A positive linear correlation was found to exist In order to secure their networks and systems cybercafé
between number of systems used for browsing and café managers provide security measures. From Table III, other
attendants (𝑟 = 0.426, 𝑝< 0.001). This, expectedly, implies findings revealed that more than three-quarter of (76.8%)
that the higher the number of browse-able systems the more and almost all the cafes (97.0%) provide firewall and
the number of café attendants employed by the owners. antivirus software respectively. However, many of them do
TABLE I. NUMBER OF CYBERCAFÉS BY STATE AND GEOGRAPHICAL not provide regulatory policy and measures to monitor power
REGION users. Specifically, only slightly more than half of the cafes
have policy displayed to regulate the activities of their
Zone State Frequency Percent
customers (53.5%) and have developed measures to monitor
North Central Abuja 14 14.1
North Central kogi 10 10.1
customers with expert knowledge in the use of the internet
North Central Niger 6 6.1 (58.6%).
North West Kaduna 15 15.2
South East Abia 5 5.1 B. Security Measures
South East Enugu 9 9.1
South South Cross River 13 13.1 Providing regulatory policy to curtail user activities was
South West Ekiti 8 8.1 found to significantly influence putting measures to monitor
South West Lagos 19 19.2 power users (𝜒2(1) = 6.127, 𝑝 = 0.013). Those who had
99 100.0 regulatory policy in place were found to be less interested in
monitoring power users. While 71.7% of internet cafes
Other characteristics considered in the study revealed that without regulatory policy had measures to monitor users in
97.0% of the internet cafes surveyed allow any individual to place, only 47.2% of those with policy did have measures.
access the internet using their network, regardless of age; Only about one-quarter (25.3%) of the cafes provide both
62.6% provide access via wireless, in addition to wired, policy and measures. And far fewer cafés, 11.1% (𝜒 2 (1) =
technology; and about half of the cybercafés, 50.5%, offer 12.01, 𝑝 = 0.001), provide both in addition to offering
introductory classes for novice users who need assistance in introductory classes for novice users.
using the internet. The results are presented in Table III. The More crucial are the availability of regulatory policy and
practice of offering this class to novice users was monitoring measures to internet cafes that permit customers
significantly dependent on the number of café attendants (𝑝 to use the cafe network to make online payments, download,
= 0.015). On average, 39.96% of internet cafes with a and store on system’s memory and their memory drive. Less
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than one-quarter, 24.1%, of cafes which allowed their half of the population, precisely 48.7%, as presented in Table
network to be used for online payment provided both V, had formatted either twice or thrice. Providing wireless
regulatory policy and measures to monitor power users technology for accessing the internet significantly influenced
( 𝜒2(1) = 6.656, 𝑝 = 0.010 ). Among the cafes that the likelihood of formatting systems (𝜒2(1) = 4.230, 𝑝 =
allowed customers to save on the café system memory and 0.04). Findings revealed that while 70.3% of internet cafes
their personal memory devices, only 24.4% and 22.8% that provided internet access via wired network only
(𝜒2(1) = 8.711, 𝑝 = 0.003) respectively provided both. formatted their systems in the last one year, 87.1% of those
And for internet cafes which expectedly permitted with wireless network, in addition to wired network, have
downloading via their networks, only 22.1% provide both formatted theirs.
policy and measures (𝜒2(1) = 5.883, 𝑝 = 0.015). In most of the cybercafés (76.8%), there have been
instances where a customer was noticed to always prefer the
TABLE III. OTHER CHARACTERISTICS, PERMISSIONS, SECURITY use of a particular system. On administrative settings being
MEASURES, EXPERIENCES AND OBSERVATIONS
changed by customers, more than half (52.5%) of the cafés
Frequency Percent confessed they had experience that. The study found
Other Characteristics significant evidence of association between customer who
Café open to Everyone 96 97.0 loves using a particular system and administrative setting
Use of wireless LAN 62 62.6 being tampered ( 𝜒2(1) = 8.398, 𝑝 = 0.004 ). The
Introductory class for novice users 50 50.5
occurrence of a customer being noticed to prefer the use of a
Permissions particular system increased the likelihood of administrative
Save on computer memory 78 78.8 settings of systems being tampered with. Specifically, 60.5%
Save on customer’s USB drive 79 79.8 of cybercafés that reported noticing a customer who loved
Systems Used for Online Payment 87 87.9 using particular system, compared with only 26.1% among
Download 86 86.9
those who did not notice any, had experienced their
Security Measures administrative settings being changed.
Availability of firewall 76 76.8
Availability of anti-virus 96 97.0 TABLE V. NUMBER OF TIMES COMPUTERS HAD BEEN FORMATTED
Availability of regulatory policy 53 53.5
Measures to monitor power users 58 58.6 Frequency Percent
Once 21 26.2
Experiences and observations Twice 25 31.2
Computers in café formatted in the last one Thrice 22 17.5
80 80.8 Four times 7 8.8
year
Noticed a customer who loves using a Five times 5 6.2
76 76.8 Total 80 100.0
particular system
Someone successfully tampered with
52 52.5
administrative settings V. DISCUSSION
This study sought to evaluate the security state of internet
TABLE IV. LENGTH OF PASSWORD cafes in Nigeria. Results of keen observation and extensive
survey of ninety-nine internet cafes located in five of the six
Frequency Percent geopolitical zones of the country revealed that most internet
More than 8 58 58.6
Less than 8 40 40.4
cafes in Nigeria are small enterprises, open to everyone,
No password 1 1.0 deploy both wired and wireless network for accessing the
Total 99 100.0 internet, and provide introductory class for novice users.
The decision by managers of internet cafes to open their
businesses to all categories of users for accessing the internet
Cybercafés naturally are expected to make use of is evidently geared towards expanding their customer base,
passwords to manage access to the internet via their network. which in turn can be expected to improve patronage.
However, the associated security issues lie with the strength However, this poses some inherent risks. One of these is that
of the password. From our survey, depicted in Table IV, children can easily take advantage of it. If not properly
there are internet cafes that actually do not use passwords. monitored, many of them might exploit the cafes for
1.0% of the cafes fell into category. In contrast, 40.4% use purposes unapproved of by their parents.
passwords but less than 8 characters long, while the rest Offering introductory classes for rookie internet users by
reported they used passwords with length more than 8. most managers of internet cafes is commendable. Novice
Fisher’s exact test revealed an evidence of relationship users often lack the requisite knowledge to use computer
between cafés using wireless LAN and length of password systems appropriately. They can subject systems to physical
(𝑝 = 0.006). Only 30.6% of internet cafes using both wired abuse, unauthorized adjustment of setting. Thus, having
and wireless technology for providing internet access either introductory classes can be seen as a proactive measure to
did not provide password mechanism for accessing their forestall possible misuse. It can also be considered a
systems or used passwords that are less than 8 characters. marketing strategy capable of attracting new customers, as
C. Managers’ Observations and Experiences well as a measure to attract customer loyalty. Nevertheless,
providing necessary capacity for conducting introductory
From Table III, 80.8% of the cybercafés had had to class for this category of users would require increased cost
format their systems at least once in the last one year. Almost of management of the cybercafés. One of the findings of the
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International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Its Applications (ICTA 2016)
study confirmed this fact. On average, most cafes offering measures to monitor power users is prone to becoming a
introductory classes tend to have higher number of café platform through which this kind of criminal activities would
attendants, when compared with those which did not. be performed. Equally vulnerable are those without
Most internet cafes in Nigeria considerably seem capable regulatory policies. Unfortunately, most of the cafes that had
of preventing unauthorized access to their network. Hackers regulatory policy in place were less interested in monitoring
located within a certain range of a cybercafé could gain power users. Findings also revealed that most of those that
internet access through the café’s network without allowed online payments via their network did not provide
authorization if the wireless network is not properly secured. both regulatory policy and monitoring measures.
One defence mechanism is to deploy a firewall. Hackers will There are other unethical uses of the internet. These
often exploit weak defence system and weak passwords, include viewing, downloading, uploading, and spreading of
amongst other things, to penetrate network systems. Our illegal contents and software, including pornographic
findings revealed that the availability of firewall in most of materials, and malware. There are basic functions a customer
the cafes. Also, most of the internet cafes using both wired typically would expect the systems and network of an
and wireless technology for providing internet access internet café to provide. A cybercafé that does not allow
implemented passwords that were more than 8 characters. customers to save their documents, download, or, use their
Regarding the capacity of internet cafes to prevent their platform to make online payments would displease many
networks from being used to perpetrate cybercrimes, the customers. For instance, how would a customer (or tourist)
study suggest that while most cafes can avert cybercriminals book a hotel if he cannot conduct payments? No doubt, these
from using their system remotely, only very few have put activities, in most cases, are fundamental to other activities
necessary mechanisms in place to prevent perpetration of performed in the café. However, they also pose some
cybercrimes by a criminal within the physical confines of the potential threats. Being able to use memory drives and
internet cafe. To commit crime via a cafe network remotely, download without restraint can aid accessing, uploading and
the café must be operating, either partially or completely, on spreading of illegal contents and software. Permitting a
a wireless network, and a cyber criminal would need to gain malicious customer to save on the hard disk of the system
access remotely to the network. The capacity to prevent this being used potentially makes the system, if proper security
by most cafes has already been identified in the study. measures are not put in place, vulnerable to, for example, be
However, on the issue of cybercrime being perpetrated used to store malicious programs. Being able to use external
locally, the study finds significant evidence to suggest that in drives on systems in cybercafés exposes the entire network
most of the internet cafes in Nigeria cybercrimes are and of the café to serious risks like malware attack. Other
could easily be carried out. In most of the cafes, malicious software can be easily transmitted via these drives.
administrative settings on computer systems had been Regrettably, our findings suggest that most of the internet
altered. It was more common among cafes where some cafes in Nigeria are potential locations for other unethical
customers accessed the internet using particular systems. uses of the internet. Most of the internet cafes had had to
This raises the question of what could be special about the format their systems within a space of one year, despite their
preferred system. It is possible that a customer might have use of antimalware. The percentage was higher for cafes that
developed a preference for a particular system due to the used wireless technology partially or fully. In each case, less
functionality it provides. This is because, in many than a quarter of the cafes which permitted customers to save
cybercafés, it is common to find one or more components on on the cafe systems, their personal systems, and download,
most of the computer systems not functioning properly. provided both regulatory policy and measures to monitor
From observation, many of the cafés often buy used and low- power users.
graded computer monitor and peripherals. A second factor is Our study corroborates previous findings, including [6],
the position within the café where the preferred system is [26], [25], that have identified cybercafés as locations for
located. The physical space occupied by some cafés are so perpetration of cybercrimes and other unethical internet uses.
inadequate that a customer, for instance, may have to sit so It also agrees with [7] who identified users as one of the
close to the entrance/exit, and consequently have to endure biggest threats faced by cybercafé operators.
brushings by those coming into or going out of the café. Any
customer would therefore prefer systems located in positions
that offer the least inconvenience, Notwithstanding, it is not VI. LIMITATIONS AND FUTURE STUDIES
impossible that the reason a customer would insist on using Our study relied primarily on self-reported data. It is thus
only a particular computer in the internet cafe is simply for subject to the validity of the measures. Secondly, we cannot
illegal activities that constitute cybercrime. Cybercriminals confidently generalize the findings as outrightly
would tweak the settings on computer systems in the cafe to representative of the entire country, since the six geopolitical
permit certain tools to facilitate their criminal intentions. To zones were not covered. Future studies could consider a
minimize such occurrence, as basic, irreducible more representative approach.
requirements, policy regulating users’ activities and It can be expected that the security posture of internet
measures to monitor some categories of users are crucial. cafes would differ in the different states/zones. For instance,
One of the most common cybercrimes in Nigeria is the in Nigeria, while some states/zones are predominantly urban,
advance fee fraud. One form of this crime is geared towards others are rural. This dichotomy, and other factors, could
stealing or cloning online transaction cards. Cybercriminals influence the prevalence of cybercrimes, and consequently
purchase and pay for goods online using these cards. The the level of security risk internet cafes in those states/zones.
implication of this is that a cybercafé which permit their A comparative security evaluation of cybercafés by
network to be used for making online payments without state/zones can be investigated.
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