Intelligent CISO Issue 25 | Page 45

industry unlocked from people’s bank accounts – as an example, as it is a growing threat in the local region. “In January and February this year, almost 1% of connected South Africans were the targets of malicious bankers. Putting this into context, the entire 2019 accounted for 1% of the local market targeted. Based on this, the projections for the remainder of the year could be massive,” said Yamout. These mobile banking Trojans are the most rapidly developing, flexible and dangerous types of malware. Now imagine having such sophisticated attacks targeting an outdated or unsupported OS. This virtually guarantees that the person will lose a significant amount (if not all) of funds in their banking accounts. Furthermore, it could compromise others as well with hackers gaining complete access to their list of beneficiaries. “Both consumers and businesses must be aware of the risks associated with using outdated or unsupported software. Living in a digital environment that is seeing an increase in cyberthreats requires constant vigilance and an awareness of the need to keep software updated, to ensure the latest cybersecurity patches are in place. To do any less poses a digital risk that can have significant consequences,” said Yamout. During the current pandemic, workforces are being required to adapt to remote working practices. This has failed to It does not matter if an organisation has the best cybersecurity solutions available, if there is even one device running an outdated OS then the whole company is compromised. www.intelligentciso.com | Issue 25 45