Cybersecurity should be an urgent priority for African business leaders

For African business leaders, keeping abreast of the local cyber-threat landscape is more important than it’s ever been. Cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, shutting down countries, cities and companies across the globe.

This onslaught of cybercrime is a particular concern for businesses across Africa. In fact, it’s estimated that African companies lost US$3.5 billion to cybercrime last year, this up by US$2 billion from the year before. According to the report by IT services and consulting firm, Serianu, Nigeria was most significantly impacted with losses of US$649 million. This was followed by Kenya and Tanzania with losses of US$210 million and US$99 million respectively.

 The emergence of new threats

Last year, Coinhive emerged as the top cybersecurity threat in both Kenya and Nigeria. Hackers would infect high-traffic websites with the Coinhive script- then when unsuspecting users visited an infected site, the script would automatically download onto their computer to start mining for a cryptocurrency called Monero.

Cryptoming malware in general proved to be a challenge for organisations across the continent. Nigeria’s average cryptomining encounter rate, for example, reached 0.44 percent. While crypto mining malware finds its way onto victims’ machines in much the same way as other forms of malware – using imaginative ways to encourage people to click on links they shouldn’t – it’s a far craftier method of attack that can work in the background without any user input.

 Global organisations gaining ground

It’s interesting to note though that on a more global scale organisations are gaining significant ground against malware attacks. In fact, malicious software encounters decreased by 34 percent between January and December 2018 as companies increased their adoption of more advanced security tools, such as Windows Defender Antivirus.

In those locations that have particularly low ransomware encounter rates, for example, Ireland, the United States and the United Kingdom, it tends to be because of solid communication around basic security measures. This typically complements strong cybersecurity infrastructure as well as comprehensive plans around how to protect that infrastructure.

 The opportunity for businesses in Africa

It means that for countries across Africa that are still on the very frontlines of the battle against cybercrime, there is an opportunity to adopt similar tactics to help combat ransomware attacks.

Heightened user awareness is particularly important when one considers that hackers are still finding a great deal of success in phishing which takes advantage of human nature. In fact, the number of inbound emails that were phishing messages increased 250 percent between January and December 2018. 

As such, businesses should be sure they keep employees up to date on security basics, such as exercising caution when clicking on links and remaining wary of suspicious communications that request sensitive information.

How technology can help

Constant communication with employees should be coupled with advanced technology that includes both detection and prevention measures.

Microsoft’s cloud-powered, intelligent security solutions help protect users, data and everything in between. This benefits organisations of all sizes that use our products and services, from small business to Fortune 500 companies and government ministries.

Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, for example, uses advanced analytics to help businesses detect phishing attempts. On the other hand, tools like Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection apply automated investigation to help companies respond swiftly to attacks.

Through events and partnerships, Microsoft is also committed to providing businesses with up-to-date information on the cybersecurity landscape in Africa so that they are adequately prepared to defend themselves against cybercrime. We strongly believe that by working together to share critical information around cyber security threats, we can start taking back ground in the battle against cybercrime.