Cyberattack surge highlights Africa security risk
Spyware and cyberattacks have skyrocketed this year, as Africans take to the internet to stay in touch with family and friends due to the COVID-19.
Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa experienced millions of
malware and other attacks between January and August, according to data from
cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
Potentially unwanted applications (PUA), also known as
grayware, are programmes that come pre-installed on phones and computers and
can pose security and privacy risks. Malware, which includes spyware and
viruses, is software designed to cause damage.
“There were 3.8 million malware attacks and 16.8 million PUA
detections,” says Kaspersky. “In South Africa, there were almost ten million
malware attacks and a staggering 43 million PUA detections. Kenyan users faced
even more malware attacks — around 14 million and 41 million PUA appearances.”
Zimbabwe’s Verengai Mabika, senior policy advisor for Africa
for the non-profit Internet Society, tells SciDev.Net that the number of
cyberattacks have grown five times during the COVID-19 pandemic, exposing
Africa’s limited digital awareness and capacity.
“In some countries, these attacks have taken a new
dimension, impersonating non-governmental organisations working on COVID-19
response, or phishing using the subject of coronavirus or COVID-19 as a lure,”
Mabika says.
Cyberattacks can lead to breaches of national security
secrets or theft of valuable, sensitive data like medical records and computer
networks can be paralysed making data unavailable, Mabika explains.
Denis Parinov, security researcher at Kaspersky, tells
SciDev.Net that home users in the region have a higher chance of malware
infection compared with corporate users.
“Users at home are generally less aware about computer
threats and tend to be more carefree when browsing the internet, reading emails
or installing software,” he says.
Parinov says cyberattacks can be avoided by not downloading
unknown software, avoiding suspicious links or links from unknown sources, and
manually typing a website address, rather than following a link.
Mabika says Africa’s vulnerabilities stem from the lack of
cybersecurity legal frameworks, lack of digital literacy and weak cybersecurity
systems,
“Many countries still have not ratified the African Union
Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, known as the Malabo Convention, which could
give a framework for responding to these threats,” Mabika explains.
He says cybersecurity does not seem to be a top priority for
most countries.
Thabo Johnson, founder of the South Africa-based African
Society for Cyber Security Awareness, says there is no government programme or
campaign for cybersecurity awareness.
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