cyber trends
Phishing and the use of MFA fatigue attacks – an extremely effective method used in high-profile breaches – are on the rise . as the country continues to report one out of five attacks to be ransomware .
With the average cost of ransomware attacks increasing every year , factors such as weak credentials , phishing emails and unpatched vulnerabilities remain the top cyber-attacking vectors . In the UAE , targeted organisations lost over US $ 1.4 million in ransomware , forcing over 40 % of the impacted companies to shut down . Following this worrying trend , the UAE Cyber Security Council announced the adoption of stringent cybersecurity standards to safeguard the country ’ s digital space .
Ranked as the sixth most dense region for cybercrime in the world , cybercrime victims in South Africa surged from 14.1 victims per 1 million Internet users in 2019 to 50.8 victims in 2020 . Most recently , the country enacted its cybersecurity act , which clearly defines cybercrimes in a bid to effectively regulate and prosecute them .
In Kenya and Nigeria , financial phishing attempts rose significantly in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 as banks , online payment systems and e-commerce websites were targeted . In Kenya , over 100,000 financial phishing attacks were detected
– a 201 % increase compared to Q1 and Nigeria has reported over 61,000 financial phishing attacks , representing an increase of 79 % compared to Q1 .
Threat landscape sees new challenges
As security tactics and the technologies associated with them evolve , so do the threat actors trying to break into organisations and their ecosystems . The constant feed of ransomware , phishing and unpatched vulnerabilities demonstrates how crucial it is for businesses to reevaluate their security strategies . www . intelligentciso . com
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