Cyber security is vital to many companies and individuals. It helps to protect vital information from falling into the wrong hands, by using encryption codes to protect the data inside computers. Cyber security is an issue that has been brought to the attention of the World Economic Forum early this year.
Africa has a rapidly increasing economic sector. With an estimated GDP increase of 3-4% it is projected to reach a figure exceeding 4 trillion by the year 2027. The rapid growth is an indication of the development of African economies and the vast potential it holds. The rapid development of the digital sector has exceeded laws and regulations of cyber security. The frequency of cyber attacks in Africa puts most businesses at risk of losing important information.
With the rise of internet access on the African continent, it is no surprise that cyber security is an emerging topic. The role the Covid-19 pandemic played can also be regarded as a contributing factor to this, as more people where working remotely during the early period of 2020. In addition, with Africa’s population over 60% of people being younger than 25 it is no surprise that there is a shift to adopting new technologies.
There has been an increase in cyber crime worldwide which has seen the success rate more than double in recent years. In 2023 Africa experienced the highest incidents of cyber attacks per week. The unprepared nature cost countries approximately 10% of their GDP. An issue that has been hindering African countries is the lack of information security infrastructure.
The most targeted sector for cyber criminals last year came from the financial sector, followed by telecommunications companies. Criminals mostly targeted major companies such as Porsche, Flutterwave, and Eskom in South Africa, several Ugandan ministries, and the Bank of Zambia. The main goal of the attacks was to obtain credentials.
Limiting the Risks of Cyberattacks
Incident monitoring is one of the ways in which businesses and individuals can limit cyber attacks. Using software such as SIEM systems that collect security breaches that have occurred in real-time. This will work hand in hand with XDR and NTA systems to help detect threats at the earliest convenience.
Evaluation of Effectiveness
Cyber security effectiveness should be monitored constantly to check if the systems are all operating as they should. It is worth exploring bug bounty programs to find any weaknesses in the system so that they can be dealt with as soon as possible.
Investing in a Cyber security task team will save companies billions especially if they have a large reputation. It will be worth looking into the development of the security systems and evaluating where the company can improve the security systems making them impenetrable.
