cyber security Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

13Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Risk mitigation and protection: cyber-resilience and cyber-insurance

By Richard Frost, Head of Consulting at Armata Protecting the organisation from cyber-risk goes beyond the digital walls surrounding it – companies need a multi-pronged approach to ensure resilience and reduce risk, explains Richard Frost, Head of Consulting at Armata Cyber Security. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes an organisation’s active commitment to securing both its digital perimeter and financial assets as fundamental to reducing risk to company solvency. Right now, cyber security is so volatile it presents a significant, ongoing threat to financial stability. The Global Financial Stability Report found that the cost of the cyber-incident is now sitting at $2.5 billion – a price tag that includes repairing and protecting against the damage caused by the incident...

6Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

ESET Reveals Top Cyber Threats of 2024 thus far: Global Trends and Local Risks Exposed

ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, has published its Threat Report for the first half of 2024, providing new insights into the cyber threat landscape faced by businesses and individuals worldwide. The report highlights several significant trends and developments in cybersecurity. This includes the increasing use of generative AI tools in cybercrime and the need for vigilance as cybercriminals use more dynamic and sophisticated methods against their targets. The report reveals a spectrum of sophisticated cyber threats across multiple regions, showcasing the global scale and urgency of today’s cybersecurity challenges. Among these is the rise of GoldDigger and GoldDiggerPlus malware, which targets Android and iOS devices. Initially emerging in Southeast Asia, these threats have now sp...

25Jun

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Data for ransom: Yours

How should organisations respond after their cybersecurity has been compromised and the attackers are now holding their information for ransom? The highest number of data compromises tracked by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) was 1,860, impacting around 300 million people in 2021. Until 2023. The ITRC tracked 3,205 data compromises affecting 353,027,892 individuals at a 72% increase on 2021’s numbers. The hackers are getting in. Which means companies need a strategy to get them out. As Richard Frost, Head of Consulting at Armata, explains, it is time to pay attention to the ‘what happens next’ part of cybersecurity, giving it the same level of investment as security technology. “Having cyber-insurance or a cyber-warranty in place is a good investment as the policy provider will...

15Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

Tech First Gulf and Invicti Security Join Forces to Strengthen Cybersecurity Across Africa

Tech First Gulf (TFG), a prominent value-added distributor in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, proudly announces a ground-breaking distribution partnership with Invicti Security, a global leader in web application and API security testing. As Africa undergoes a digital transformation, adopts new technologies, and experiences rapid economic growth, the region faces an unprecedented surge in cybersecurity threats. Invicti Security, renowned for enhancing web application and API security posture, brings forth a formidable mix of accuracy, coverage, speed, automation, and scale, shaped by years of investment and catering to the needs of thousands of customers. The official agreement, sealed in January 2024, marks a pivotal moment in advancing cybersecurity solutions tailored to the u...

25Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Armata unpacks details in latest webinar on the benefits of outsourcing security operations

To the backdrop of cyber threats increasing every year, accompanied by a severe skills shortage in the tech industry broadly and cybersecurity more specifically, many businesses are looking for the best ways to manage their security operations. Cybersecurity specialist business Armata, led by industry heavyweight Caesar Tonkin, recently hosted a webinar to help businesses understand the benefits of organisations outsourcing their security operations. Tonkin has led a series of industry webinars, seeking to elevate the knowledge-sharing that’s essential for the industry to keep up with nefarious threat actors who are using ever-more elaborate technology and techniques to attack business systems. The most recent webinar was designed to give businesses deeper insight into the process of outs...

22Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Tech

ESET Threat Report: Ransomware and password guessing top cybersecurity threats

Ransomware surpassed the worst expectations in 2021, with attacks against critical infrastructure, outrageous ransom demands and over USD 5 billion worth of potential bitcoin transactions in the first half of the year alone. RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) attack numbers from the last weeks of T3 2021 broke all previous records, amounting to a staggering yearly growth of 897%. Android banking malware detections rose by 428% in 2021 compared to 2020. ProxyLogon vulnerability was the second most frequent external attack vector in ESET’s 2021 statistics, right after password-guessing attacks. Attacks exploiting the Log4Shell vulnerability were the fifth most common external intrusion vector in 2021. ESET Research has released its T3 Threat Report for the fourth quarter of 2021, s...

19Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News, Tech

Payment fraud – top five scams to look out for

The truth is, all businesses are at risk of being scammed at some point, and just one incident can cost a company millions of Rand. Ryan Mer, CEO, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee™ (KYP) platform provider, says that fraudsters are constantly finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and attack corporate payment systems and it’s critical that we all work together and share information to remain one step ahead of scammers. Accounts payable fraud is one of the most damaging and is common in companies large and small, targeting the department responsible for paying suppliers and other vendors. A report from JP Morgan found that 81% (source) of organisations were hit with payment fraud in 2019, and only a relatively small portion of losses are recovered because the scam worked so well. He...

1Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Only 20% of companies reported not getting attacked in 2021 compared to 32% in 2020

Acronis, the global leader in cyber protection, has released its annual Cyber Readiness Report, providing a comprehensive overview of the modern cybersecurity landscape and the key pain points faced by businesses and remote employees worldwide amid the global pandemic. Acronis’ research from last year revealed more than 80% of global companies admitted they were not prepared to transition to remote work – exposing key vulnerabilities businesses must quickly plan and implement solutions for. Based on findings from this year’s independent survey of 3,600 IT managers and remote employees at small and medium-sized companies in 18 countries across the globe, including the South Africa. The report states that 53% of global companies have a false sense of security when it comes to supply chain ...

27Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Tech

Another data breach rocks South Africa as details of 1.4 million South Africans gets leaked

We are currently living in a world that is being driven by technology. It is very rare to find any aspect of our daily lives that is not impacted by technology. Since Government imposed the National Lockdown – which aims to mitigate the worst effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic – there has been a significant move towards social distancing and essential services within the financial services industry have moved online. “Criminals have also moved online,” reports Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), “it is estimated that there are 17 billion cyber attacks that take place around the world every day. Another South African company reports a data breach Over the past two years, South African companies have been reporting that they have been victims ...

12Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, South Africa News

Transnet is a harsh reminder that anyone is a victim in the current environment

The recent cyber-attack on Transnet is a serious wakeup call and a reminder that, in the technology age, no company is safe from cyber criminals who are trying to disrupt operations or steal personal information. While Transnet was dealing with its cyberattack, Macsteel - one of South Africa’s largest steel suppliers - faced a similar cyberattack on its system. At the end of June, there was a major data leak that impacted one of South Africa’s major insurers. "These coordinated attacks by cyber criminals are indicative of the environment that we live in at the moment," says Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS). He adds that these criminals are motivated, well-funded, and do not care who they go after. Risk based environment The cyber attack ...