The US Agency for International Development (USAID) yesterday launched a new digital commerce cybersecurity campaign that will provide businesses with the information and tools needed to counter potential cybersecurity risks in e-commerce.

With the slogan, "Digital Safety for Business," the campaign will instil digital best practices among small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs), and provide them with online learning materials and tools to protect against cybersecurity threats.

Over the next eight months, this campaign will reach around one million micro, small and medium enterprises to enhance their knowledge regarding cybersecurity threats and preventive measures, USAID said in a press release.

Md Mafizur Rahman, managing director of the SME Foundation, Aklima Haque, USAID's regional digital initiative project lead for South Asia, and Md Najmul Islam, additional deputy police commissioner of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, were present at the inauguration ceremony at The Daily Star Center.

The project is being implemented by DAI Global and is working with governments and private sector partners in South Asia to improve digital connectivity and economic development in the region.

It aims to strengthen the digital capacity of SMEs, raise awareness around critical cybersecurity issues, and foster opportunities to engage in digital and information communication and technology policy issues.

"With Bangladesh's rapid transition towards a higher income country by 2041, e-commerce related regulations and oversight must evolve along with the digital commerce ecosystem," said USAID's Haque.

Md Mafizur Rahman invited the campaign team to collaborate with the SME Foundation to spread this important message using their extensive network, especially during the upcoming SME FAIR 2022.

Special guest Dewan Mohammad Humayun Kabir, project director of Aspire to Innovate (a2i), said cybersecurity awareness needs to be incorporated in education from the primary level so that it can be embedded into people at a younger age.

"We must establish nationwide cyber police units across all districts of Bangladesh," said Additional Deputy Police Commissioner Islam.