Kaspersky
Kenya Has Had to Deal with Nearly 33-Million Cyber Attacks in the First Half of 2021
The increase in cyberthreats recorded by internet security group Kaspersky in the first half of this year in Kenya amounted to 32.8 million. Compared to similarly prominently targeted countries in the African region the recorded number was on par with South Africa accounting for 31.5 million, and near double the number recorded in Nigeria at 16.7 million. Overall, a combined 81 million attacks were recorded in these three countries, which is indicative of how significant the danger has become to organisations and users in the connected world. “Threats can be categorised as criminal (80% of attacks), targeted (19.9%), and advanced (0.01%). The advanced grouping is significantly more sophisticated and feature increased investment from attack groups. Unfortunately, both criminal and targeted ...
How “Squid Game” is Being Used to Spread Malware & Steal User Info
Image sourced from WhatToWatch. During the month following its release, Squid Game, a South Korean survival drama TV series, became Netflix’s biggest show, with more than 111-million viewers. Following this unprecedented demand from viewers, cybercriminals were not shy in taking advantage of fans’ eagerness to watch the show, with well-known fraud schemes hitting the web themed after the series. Experts from cybersecurity group Kaspersky share their insights on the most common and sophisticated Squid Game-related threats found in the wild, including Trojans, adware, and phishy offers of Halloween costumes. Download an Episode of Squid Game for Free. Oh, and Some Malware too. From September to October 2021, Kaspersky found several dozen different malicious files on the web, the names of whi...
26% of SA SMBs Launched New Products During the Pandemic – Study
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How to Successfully Recover from a Ransomware Attack
Sourced from Kaspersky South Africa is an attractive target for cybercriminals for a number of reasons, and the last few years have seen a sharp rise in high-profile ransomware attacks. One of the key motivations driving this volume of attacks is the fact that data is a de facto currency and an extremely valuable commodity on the black market. While backup is a critical component of data protection, when this backup is also encrypted by malicious software, companies are often left with few options other than to pay the ransom. Therefore, an effective Cyber Recovery strategy, which enables businesses to get back up and running without having to give in to criminal demands, is the key. Ransomware on the Rise The rapid adoption of digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the I...
Over 1,500 Malicious Resources Are Targeting Potential Crypto Investors in Africa
Image sourced from Shutterstock. Globally, cryptocurrency mining malware wreaked havoc in 2018, infecting more than five million people in the first three quarters of that year. Recent Kaspersky’s research shows that in some African countries, the threat of malicious crypto miners remains prevalent. Currently, in South Africa, the share of all users targeted by malicious crypto miners in H1 2021 was 0.60%. In Kenya, the share of all users targeted was 0.85% and in Nigeria, 0.71%. “Although these percentages may be interpreted as low and may not seem significant to users, crypto-miner malware has been identified as one of the top 3 malware families rife in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria at present,” says Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa. Kaspersky believes thes...
5.8-Million Attacks Detected in Malware Disguised as PC Games
Image sourced from Wccftech. Over 5.8 million attacks by malware and unwanted software disguised as popular PC games were detected and prevented by Kaspersky and its cybersecurity solutions globally from Q3 2020 to Q2 2021. This increased volume may be connected to the rapid growth of gaming activities during the pandemic. The data comes from the latest game-related cyberthreats report by Kaspersky, in which researchers assessed the changes of gaming-related threats during the pandemic. The gaming industry witnessed unprecedented growth over the past 18-months, in part, thanks to users being forced to find alternative means of entertainment as they stayed at home. Even though the world has become safer this year, the demand for games persists, and the industry is predicted to grow even fur...
When Ransomware Strikes, Can You Recover Fast Enough?
Sourced from Kaspersky Ransomware attacks have become increasingly common, and they are even available on the dark Web to purchase as a service. There have been many incidents in the news, where major companies have been left with little choice other than to pay the ransom to get their data back, often amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The reality is that ransomware and other cyberattacks have become a question of when not if. The ability to respond and recover quickly has therefore become an essential part of successful ransomware defence, but it is something many organisations, especially in South Africa, struggle with. Consider Some Statistics The State of Ransomware report from security firm Sophos reveals that, over the last year, the average cost of remediating a ransomw...
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...
Malware Attacks in Africa Reach 85-Million in 6 Months – Kaspersky
Image sourced from Sectigo. According to research performed by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, malware is rife across Africa with various countries exhibiting strong growth in all malware types in the first half of 2021 when compared to the same period last year. This is a 5% increase in the region, as cybercriminals and hackers continue to focus on African countries considering digital transformation advancements and the increase in remote working resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 4 countries account for 85 million attacks, with South Africa being the most targeted (32-million attacks), followed by Kenya (28.3-million), Nigeria (16.7-million) and Ethiopia (8-million). All countries but Kenya saw the relative growth of all malware attacks. Ethiopia and Nigeria have seen an incre...
35% of SAns Have Never Used Dating Apps Because They Fear Scammers
Sourced from TechSpot and PC World. According to the findings of a study by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, dating app scammers pose a serious barrier to people wanting to use such services. In particular, 35% of respondents in South Africa are afraid to use them, as they fear being deceived by fraudsters, and 35% generally do not trust people in dating apps. However, only 17% of respondents were targeted by cybercriminals, and 34% who contacted fraudsters managed to avoid an attack. Millions of individuals use online dating applications or social networking sites in order to find a partner. But instead of finding love, many people encounter a con artist attempting to dupe them into giving money. Scammers are drawn to dating services because they know that people on these platforms are looki...
Cyber Attacks in Africa Comparable to World Wide Rates, says Kaspersky
Sourced from IDG Connect With digital transformation a top priority on the corporate agenda as companies identify new ways to grow their business, cyber attackers and opportunist cybercriminals remain very active. While Africa is not necessarily considered a focus area for the more sophisticated types of cybercriminal activity such as targeted attacks or advanced persistent threats (APTs), the continent is certainly not immune to these or other types of cyber risks, warn Kaspersky researchers. When looking at the general cyber threat landscape as it impacts consumers and businesses, Kaspersky research shows that in 2020, worldwide, approximately 10% of computers experienced at least one malware attack. Interestingly, in some African countries, including South Africa, the figure was only sl...
