The NSU Cybersecurity Center on Friday (July 3, 2026) launched the first cohort of its MSME Digital Hygiene and Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program at North South University.

The daylong training, held at NAC 412, began with a pre-test to assess participants’ baseline knowledge, followed by sessions on digital hygiene practices and common cyber threats affecting MSMEs in Bangladesh, a press release said.

Participants were introduced to essential safety measures such as device security, regular updates, safe handling of credentials, and identifying suspicious links. The training also covered prevalent risks including mobile banking scams (such as bKash OTP fraud), phishing in its various forms, account takeovers, fake prize schemes, and emerging threats like deepfakes.

The afternoon featured hands-on lab sessions facilitated by NSU students, where participants engaged in practical exercises on their own devices, including reviewing app permissions, setting secure PINs, and enabling two-factor authentication (2FA).

Dr Monika Akbar, associate professor of computer science at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), visited the programme and shared insights on applied cybersecurity education and community-based clinic models.

The programme ended with a certificate awarding ceremony for participants.

The initiative is supported by the APAC Cybersecurity Fund of The Asia Foundation, with support from Google.org, and aims to reach at least 300 digitally vulnerable MSMEs and organisations.

Among others present were Prof. Md Shazzad Hosain, project director of the NSU Cybersecurity Center and dean of the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences (SEPS) at NSU, and AKM Iqtidar Newaz and Zarjina Tarana Khalil, executive directors of the center.