Cyber security investment gaps to increase attacks

AFRICAN countries, including Nigeria, might be facing serious cybersecurity investment challenges, which are expected to rise in 2024 and fuel various forms of attacks.

Kaspersky, which revealed this, noted that though African countries are undergoing rapid digitalisation and integration into the world's economy, they face cybersecurity challenges. As such, it disclosed that in the second half of 2023, 7.55 per cent of Operational Technology computers in Africa were exposed to threats via USBS ( that is 20 times more than the figure of Western Europe); 7.2 per cent faced threats by worms ( that is 28 times more than in Australia and New Zealand); and 9.1 per cent of OT computers were exposed to spyware ( that is 7.7 times more than the figure for North America).

While presenting an industrial cybersecurity review for the countries in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa ( META) region, the cybersecurity firm outlined the key cybersecurity challenges for industrial enterprises in the year ahead.

According to Kaspersky Security Network ( KSN) statistics, in the second half of 2023, 32.6 per cent of ICS computers globally had been attacked with malware. It said in the META region, the figure was 36.5 per cent for Turkiye, 36.8 percent for Africa ( 27.5 per cent in South Africa, 34.55 percent in Kenya, 28.8 percent in Nigeria, 33.17 per cent in Ghana) and 33.5 per cent for the Middle East region.

Kaspersky observed that there is a slight decrease i n this figure in the region compared to 2022, which can be the result of industrial organisations paying more attention to cybersecurity.

Kaspersky Ind ustrial Control Systems C yber Emergency Response Team ( ICS CERT) predictions for 2024 highlighted the persistence of ransomware threats, the rise of cosmopolitical hacktivism, an outlook on the state of "offensive cybersecurity", and transformative shifts in logistics and transport threats.

Kaspersky industrial Looking cybersecurity predicted back at 2023, land- the scape with will several continue key to trends evolve, emerging. It said the pursuit of efficiency in IIOT and SmartXXX systems fueled an expanded attack surface, while the surge in energy carrier prices led to heightened hardware costs, prompting a strategic shift towards cloud services. According to it, the growing government involvement in industrial processes also introduced fresh risks, including concerns about data leaks due to underqualified employees and insufficient practices for responsible disclosure.