(3 minutes read)
- Internet security firm Kaspersky, said in countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, there are increasing incidences of cyber attacks of malware. ransomware, financial/banking Trojans and crypto-miner malware
- When comparing the first quarter of 2021 (Q1) with second quarter of 2021 (Q2), there was a 24 per cent increase in ransomware in Q2 2021 in South Africa
- Kaspersky said there was a large increase in financial/banking Trojans in Q2 2021 when compared to the figures for Q1 2021 , an increase of 59 per cent increase in Kenya and a 32 per cent increase in Nigeria
Internet security firm Kaspersky, said in countries like South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, there are increasing incidences of cyber attacks of malware. ransomware, financial/banking Trojans and crypto-miner malware.
When comparing the first quarter of 2021 (Q1) with the second quarter of 2021 (Q2), there was a 24 per cent increase in ransomware in Q2 2021 in South Africa. Kaspersky said there was a large increase in financial/banking Trojans in Q2 2021 when compared to the figures for Q1 2021 , an increase of 59 per cent in Kenya and a 32 per cent increase in Nigeria.
Kaspersky said research showed that in 2020, worldwide, approximately 10 per cent of computers experienced at least one malware attack. Some African countries, including South Africa, the figure was only slightly under the global 10 per cent average, making the African region comparable to that of North America or Europe in terms of cyber attacks. While Africa is not necessarily considered a focus area for the more sophisticated types of cybercriminal activity, continent is certainly not immune to these or other types of cyber risks, warns Kaspersky.
In countries like Liberia, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, Kaspersky saw a slightly higher rate of cyber attacks, while other parts showed a lower rate of a five per cent or six per cent average. Africa has the same hit rate of cyber attacks as one would see for other parts of the globe.