A Kaspersky research highlights that malware has been widespread across Africa, recording a 5% YoY increase in the region during the first six months. Cybercriminals and hackers continue to focus on African countries considering numerous digital transformation initiatives and a surge in remote working due to the pandemic.
Overall, 4 countries account for 85 million attacks. South Africa is the most targeted with 32 million attacks — an increase of 14% from last year — followed by Kenya with 28.3 million which decreased by 13%. On the other hand, Nigeria recorded 16.7 million malware attacks — a 23% increase — and Ethiopia with 8 million grew by 20%.
“Even though the scourge of malware has always been of concern, the past 12-months have highlighted how hackers are refocusing their efforts to compromise consumer and corporate systems and gain access to critical data and information. Given the growth of digital transformation across Africa since last year, the continent has become an attractive target for those looking to exploit a lack of user education and cybersecurity understanding. This has contributed to the large number of personal devices still not having any form of cybersecurity software installed,” says Bethwel Opil, enterprise sales manager at Kaspersky in Africa.
“Malware can get onto a device in several ways. For example, clicking on an infected link or advert, opening an attachment in a spam email, or downloading a compromised app. This means proactive malware protection is essential to safeguard individual users and corporates against these threats,” adds Opil.
As suggested, there are several best practices to consider when it comes to malware protection:
- Install anti-virus software
- Only download applications from trusted sites and always check the app permissions
- Never click on unverified links
- Keep operating systems and applications updated
- Be wary of free and public Wi-Fi connection
