Cybersecurity South Africa
Good News: Crypto-Mining Attacks Decline Across Africa
Image sourced from www.pymnts.com. In Q2 2022, Kaspersky solutions detected 40,788 new modifications of miners. According to Kaspersky Security Network data, in the African region, the number of home users affected by cryptominers in Q2 of 2022 decreased slightly compared to the previous quarter. However, the possibility of a surge in cryptomining attacks persists and could be directly correlated to cryptocurrency exchange rates. What is Crypto-Mining? Cryptomining is a process during which users mining cryptocurrencies utilise computers, data, codes, and calculations to validate cryptocurrency transactions and earn cryptocurrency as compensation for their work. Cryptomining is highly resource-consuming and hence expensive to do, which is why cybercriminals seek access to others’ machines ...
The Current & Future State of Smart OT Security
Image sourced from Pixabay It’s no surprise that security and network professionals working in operational technology (OT) environments are eager to take advantage of the emerging capabilities of digital transformation. Adopting modern technologies like cloud computing, machine automation, and the Internet of Things (IoT) across the industrial sector offers many potential benefits, ranging from streamlined processes that contribute to increased staff productivity to decreased plant downtime. However, a new report published by Smart Industry and sponsored by Fortinet explores the challenges these decision makers face when balancing the acceleration of their digital transformation efforts with the creation and maintenance of a strong security program. The report...
The Crypto Collapse & Rising DDoS Smart Attacks
Image sourced from Shutterstock. During Q2 2022, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks reached a new level as the share of smart attacks and average duration saw steep increases. Compared to the previous year, the average duration of a DDoS attack rose 100 times, reaching 3,000 minutes. The share of smart attacks almost broke the four-year record, accounting for nearly 50% of the total. Experts also expect an increase in overall DDoS activity, especially with the recent collapse of cryptocurrency. These and other findings are part of a quarterly DDoS report issued by Kaspersky. A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is designed to hinder the normal functioning of a website or crash it completely. During an attack (which usually targets government institutions, retail or ...
The 4 Biggest Cyberthreats Affecting SA’s Government Institutions
South African government departments, organisations across industry sectors regardless of size, and even private individuals online all face the constant risk of being victims of a cyberattack, according to Russia-based international cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. While this is not a unique challenge to the African country, it is certainly a growing one that requires the “reprioritisation” of cybersecurity countermeasures, it says. “If we have a look at the local market, the types of cyberattacks we are seeing impacting businesses, and across different industries, reinforces the need to be vigilant and educate employees on what constitutes cybersecurity best practice, especially as cybercriminals tactics and methods evolve,” says James Gumede, SADC Territory Account Manager at Kaspersky. Fr...
Liquid Launches Africa’s First Cyber-Security “Fusion” Centre
Image sourced from Insurance Chat. Liquid Cyber Security, an arm of pan-African Cassava Technologies group, today announced the launch of the first of its planned matrix of Cyber Security Fusion Centres in Johannesburg, South Africa. With this Fusion Centre, Liquid aims to bolster the cyber security industry in the country by managing the growing threat of cyberattacks to governments and enterprises of all sizes. “For the first time, African businesses and governments will have access to Liquid’s matrix of Security Fusion Centres across key markets. These centres will provide threat intelligence and bring together the existing Liquid Cloud Operations and Liquid Network Operation Centres,” reads the announcement from Liquid. The Centre will seek to eliminate the need for silos and enhance t...
1 in 3 Untrained Employees Will Click on a Phishing Link – New Report
Image sourced from Kaspersky. KnowBe4, one of the world’s largest cyber-security awareness training companies and simulated phishing platform provider, has released the new 2022 Phishing by Industry Benchmarking Report to measure an organisation’s Phish-prone Percentage (PPP), which indicates how many of their employees are likely to fall for phishing or a social engineering scam. With ransomware payments averaging $580,000 in 2021 and business email compromise (BEC) losses topping $1.8 billion in 2020, a cyber attack can wreak havoc on an organisation. Yet, according to the baseline testing conducted for the report, without security training, across all industries globally, 32.4% of employees are likely to click on a suspicious link or comply with a fraudulent request. In some large categ...
How a Career in Cybersecurity Can Secure Your Future
Nash Lewis. According to a salary and hiring report by the professional recruitment group, Michael Page, cybersecurity is one of the top in-demand technology jobs in South Africa. Cybersecurity is an issue of critical importance and companies are prioritising hiring talent with the expertise of putting safeguarding measures in place. In response to this, the Banking Sector Education and Training Authority has developed new occupational qualifications to address the growing need for formal qualifications related to cybersecurity in South Africa. Interest in cybersecurity understandably follows increased demand for advanced technology by customers, especially within the fintech sector. With more customers conducting online transactions, the risk for potential cyber-attacks has rapidly increa...
These Are the Cyber Dangers Still Faced by SA’s SMEs
Image sourced from Pixabay Internet security provider Kaspersky says that small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other small businesses in South Africa are still facing many threats from cyber criminals and threat actors. What’s worse is that many small business owners do not use or believe it important to use cybersecurity services to secure their businesses. As commerce is moving ever continually online, this disregard for IT security continues to be exploited by cybercriminals. Kaspersky researchers assessed the dynamics of attacks on small and medium-sized businesses between January and April 2022 and the same period in 2021, to identify which threats pose an increasing danger to entrepreneurs. Cyber Threats Still Being Faced by SMEs in South Africa: In 2022, the number of Trojan...
Vodacom & Accenture Join Forces for Bespoke Cybersecurity
South African telco Vodacom and Ireland-based IT services company Accenture have partnered to launch Vodacom Managed Security services through Vodacom Business. The partnership was publically announced yesterday via press release. Vodacom Managed Security services is a new solution that creates custom cybersecurity modules for small businesses in South Africa. According to Vodacom, South Africa has among the most cybercrime incidents in the world and a lack of sufficient investment in cybersecurity has led to this crisis. This is particularly true for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that simply don’t have the same human capital, technology assets, and financial resources as larger businesses. Vodacom Business and Accenture have launched the Vodacom Managed Security Services to o...
The State of Cyber Extortion Crime in South Africa
Sourced from Kaspersky The KnowBe4 and ITWeb Ransomware Survey took a deep look into the South African organisation, finding that ransomware and cybercrime are increasingly impacting organisations on the continent. While many companies (32%) were attacked in 2021, some multiple times (12%), 64% of organisations believe they are prepared, and 67% would not pay the ransom. According to Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, the South African market with its growing economy and cyber dependence, is becoming increasingly tasty as a cyber extortion snack. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “It is natural for cybercriminal organisations to look at emerging economies for future attacks, as they are often not as prepared as the re...
How a Small Email Phish Can Become a Million Rand Ransom
Image sourced from Kaspersky. Cybercrime is smart, innovative, and agile. Cybercriminals are well-rewarded for their innovative attack vectors and have no incentive to stop finding inventive ways of penetrating systems and moving past the most vulnerable defences. According to Paul Grapendaal, Head of Managed Security Services at Nclose, there’s no standard playbook when it comes to penetrating a system successfully, but there are solid security steps that can mitigate risk and help the business manage the fallout. Steps that will help bolster your defences and ensure that one phish won’t cost your business millions. Paul Grapendaal, Head of Managed Security Services at Nclose. “There are obvious routes of attack, such as spear phishing, that are designed to focus on a target with the sole...
Altron Security Appoints New Managing Director
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