African businesses have been hit by a 20% increase in cyberattacks in Q1 2024 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest report by cybersecurity company, Check Point.
Check Point’s alert of escalating cyberattacks across the continent aligns with the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) forecast for 2024. CSEAN predicted a continued increase in mis/disinformation, ransomware attacks, attacks against vulnerable government online assets, crypto scams, benefit and employment scams, information and credential theft, AI-enabled threats, impersonation scams, insider threats, cyber hacktivism, and web defacement.
“Regionally, Africa surged to the forefront with an average of 2,373 attacks per week per organisation, a 20% jump from the same period in 2023,” Check Point, stated in the report.
“It is the substantial year-on-year increase in attacks on the Hardware Vendor industry, rising by 37%, which underlines a strategic shift in target preference by cybercriminals. This industry’s increasing reliance on hardware for IoT and smart devices makes these vendors lucrative targets for cybercriminals,” according to the Check Point report.
The Education/Research sector leads the chart in targeted industries with an average of 2,454 weekly attacks per organisation, according to the report.
The Healthcare sector saw 1,605 attacks per organisation, while the Government/Military sector followed with 1,692 attacks per week, highlighting the alarming vulnerability of sectors critical to societal function.
“It is the substantial year-on-year increase in attacks on the Hardware Vendor industry, rising by 37%, which underlines a strategic shift in target preference by cybercriminals. This industry’s increasing reliance on hardware for IoT and smart devices makes these vendors lucrative targets for cybercriminals,” according to the Check Point report.
Businesses need to take a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, Check Point said. This includes implementing reliable data backups, providing regular cyber awareness training, applying timely security patches, enforcing strong user authentication, and utilizing advanced anti-ransomware solutions. The cybersecurity company also suggests that proactive engagement with AI-powered defences can greatly enhance an organisation’s ability to withstand such threats.
As threats become more sophisticated, Check Point underscores that businesses need to advance their defence techniques, particularly in AI, to detect and analyse anomalies and new attack patterns early. The recent reports show North America was the region most heavily affected by ransomware attacks in the first quarter of 2024. Out of almost 1000 ransomware attacks reported, 59% occurred in North America, followed by Europe at 24% and APAC at 12%. The report also indicated that Europe had the highest increase in reported ransomware attacks, with a significant 64% increase when compared to Q1 of 2023.
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