cybercrime
Malware Spreading Through Popular WhatsApp Mod Uncovered
Image sourced from YoMZanzi A malicious version of a popular WhatsApp messenger mod (unofficial modification of the app) called FMWhatsapp has been discovered by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. This mod spreads the Triada mobile Trojan, which downloads other Trojans and can launch ads, issue subscriptions, and intercept a user’s SMSs. Even though WhatsApp is one of the most popular apps for instant mobile messaging, not all users are satisfied with its features. Looking for the most user-friendly version, people can be tempted to install modified versions of WhatsApp, which provide many more options than the official one (such as choosing dynamic templates or the ability to read deleted messages). However, these modified apps do not have the same security and encryption features that the off...
Take Steps Now to Protect Your Organisation as Ransomware-as-a-Service Ramps Up DDoS Attack Offerings
Image sourced from Ben Kerckx, Pixabay. The services industry has traditionally included sectors ranging from social assistance and health care to transportation and scientific services. However, it doesn’t end there, because the human talent for innovation can turn almost anything into a service. We also find – rather less top-of-mind for most people – the offer of hitmen-as-a-service, usually associated, at least in Hollywood, with large and well-muscled men in expensive suits and sunglasses. A few years ago, this area of business moved into the cyber arena as well. And so we present: ransomware-as-a-service. Today, one of its latest offerings is a ‘triple threat’ that turns Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks into an even more lethal cyber weapon against organisations. Carole H...
A Cyberattack Happens Every 11 Seconds, Choose Your Cloud Wisely
Sourced from International IDEA Cybersecurity experts predict that there is currently a cyberattack incident approximately every 11 seconds worldwide. This is almost double what it was in 2019 (every 19 seconds), and four times more than five years ago (every 40 seconds in 2016). Aside from these concerning statistics, what is even more alarming is the degree to which the sophistication of these attacks has grown. We are just over a year and a half into the pandemic and the way organisations approach cybersecurity has been embraced at an accelerated pace. With the vast majority of companies adopting fully remote or hybrid working arrangements, there has been a firm focus on the implementation of additional cybersecurity measures to keep critical operations secure. But, despite all efforts ...
Top 5 Tips for Women to Build a Career in Cybersecurity
Image sourced from Texas News Today Representation of women in the cybersecurity industry has grown over the past years and, while this is positive, there is still room for improvement. Growth and success in this area require that everyone work together to amplify each other, but this is easier said than done. How can those interested in cybersecurity further develop their careers? What can those who would like to be an ally do? To answer this, women on the Cisco cybersecurity team across Africa share their journey and experiences and a few common themes stood out. Interestingly, not everyone in cybersecurity started with a technical background. Some of the women currently in cybersecurity started in non-stem-related courses. Cybersecurity was also seen as a growing industry with a choice ...
Only 20% of Cybersecurity Workforce Are Women Despite Industry Skills Deficit
Image sourced from OpportunitiesNB. “Diversity is more than gender. It is race, culture, ability and country. It is mixing up the talent pool and adding in the unique insights and perspectives that different people from different walks of life bring to create teams that are more engaging and innovative,” opines Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA. “It will also go a very long way towards filling the very real and very large security skills hole that is growing wider every day.” According to Collard, diversity is a critical and strategic step that the cybersecurity industry depends on to ensure longevity and ongoing security capability. “Women only make up about 20% of the current cybersecurity workforce and yet one of the top pain points for the CISO is th...
The High Cost of Cybercrime is Getting Higher
Image sourced from Finance Times. If cybercrime organizations could be publicly traded, we’d have an instant new multibillion-dollar industry sector. Indeed, cyber threats have become so pervasive that U.S. President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order aimed at improving federal cybersecurity in the wake of multiple significant cyberattacks, including the ransomware attack that shut down the Colonial Pipeline. Meanwhile, a broad coalition of experts in the industry, government, law enforcement, civil society, and international organizations have joined together in the Ransomware Task Force to build a framework for combatting ransomware. Ransomware attacks are only one method, however. Threat actors also use distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to ratchet up the p...
Ports in SA Have Mostly Returned to Operations Following Transnet Cyberattack
Image sourced from News24. Ports in South Africa have mostly returned to normal operations, according to the country’s government. Last week, SA’s port operations authority, Transnet, was struck by a massive ransomware attack that crippled its digital systems leaving South Africa’s key container terminal in disarray. “The return to operations is good news for the economy, as the Transnet ports and rail system are the backbone of the economy,” the ministry for public enterprises shared in a statement on Wednesday. Transnet was left with no choice but to declare force majeure following the cyberattack on 22 July 2021. Force majeure is a legal clause that wavers any liability from Transnet for not being able to provide promised services for its clients. The clause is usually reserved for “act...
Beware: The Top 5 Cybercrime Schemes Running Amid the Tokyo Olympics
Image sourced from T3. After an unprecedented year-long delay, the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics began in earnest last week. This time, all the events will take place with no spectators, which reduces physical risks – in terms of health and from a cybersecurity point of view (such as data theft using the vulnerabilities of public Wi-Fi at the stadium). However, sports enthusiasts should not forget that cybercriminals will aim to take advantage of fans’ eagerness to watch the Olympic Games by instigating various online fraud schemes. To get a better overview of how scammers are trying to monetise viewers’ interest, Kaspersky experts analysed Olympic-related phishing websites designed to steal users’ credentials. As a result, Kaspersky researchers found fake pages offering to stream various Oly...
Using AI to Beat Cybercriminals at their Own Game
Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a powerful technology, and because of this, it holds great potential for exploitation by cybercriminals. Considering this, the only way that security leaders can stay ahead of bad actors is by gaining a true understanding of how this technology can be weaponised. Then, they can begin to develop effective strategies for confronting AI threats head-on. Malicious Uses of AI Technology As AI grows in adoption and sophistication, cybercriminals are looking for ways to seize upon its potential. The Electronic Frontier Foundation was already warning about potential malicious uses of AI back in 2018, including threats to digital, physical, and political security. And now, AI precursors combined with swarm technology can be used to infiltrate a networ...
The Shift to Remote Working Has Led to Bad Online Security Habits
More than 50% of IT teams believe that employees have bad security habits. Habits they’ve developed since moving their offices into the home and that put their information, systems and employers at risk. The statistic comes from the Tessian Back to Work Security Behaviors Report that also found an age discrepancy when it came to who practised the best security from home. Around 51% of 16–24-year-olds and 46% of 25–34-year-olds reported that they used security workarounds, while two in five people said that the security behaviours they adopted at home were very different from those they used in the office. Training A Top Priority For Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 AFRICA, this draws a thick red marker around the need to ensure that people and security trainin...
Cryptocurrency and Cybercrime: 3 Insights You Need to Know
Image sourced from Shutterstock. Criminals have kept pace with changing technologies by no longer wanting their crimes to generate hard cash – bitcoin has become the currency of choice. That’s particularly true for cybercrime, where ransomware is booming as criminals infiltrate organisations’ IT systems and threaten to publish or destroy crucial data unless a ransom is paid in Bitcoin. Here are 3 insights you need to know about the links between cybercrime and cryptocurrency: 1. Cryptocurrency is Fuelling Cybercrime Ransomware payments have become so huge that attacks are mounting daily. A recent high-profile case was an attack on the US Colonial Pipeline, causing the system that carries 2.5 million barrels of oil a day to be shut off. It’s become such a lucrative business that some syndic...
Kenya’s IEBC Denies Servers Were Hacked to Steal Personal Details from 61,000 Voters
Image sourced from Brookings.edu. Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has refuted claims that hackers infiltrated its servers and obtained the personal details of at least 61,000 registered voters. This comes after reports from the Directive of Criminal Investigators (DCI) were released, saying that the directive has arrested a 21-year old fraud suspect claimed to have allegedly hacked into the IEBC’s servers. Only identified by the alias ‘Kiprop’ by the DCI, the suspect is said to be the mastermind behind a high-tech mobile phone scam syndicate that has been stealing millions of dollars from M-Pesa agents across Kenya. DCI’s Report According to Nation, the DCI claim that Kiprop gained access to IEBC’s database and stole the personal details of 61,617 registered ...
