SECURITY NEWS
At least a quarter of users in South Africa , Kenya and Nigeria are attacked by malware hiding within their devices
There is a common misconception that the most dangerous threats to encounter on modern users ’ digital journeys are likely to appear during Internet surfing . The reality however , based on the most recent analysis of cyberattacks in South Africa , Kenya and Nigeria within 2020 by Kaspersky experts , demonstrates that users are in fact more likely to face malware related attacks hidden within their devices .
Such threats are classified as ‘ local ’, which means they are detected either on users ’ devices or on portable data storage devices , such as flash drives . In 2020 , 25 % of Kaspersky private users in South Africa , 40 % in Kenya and 38 % in Nigeria were attacked by such threats . To provide a comparison , web attacks only affected 9 % of users in South Africa , 11 % in Kenya and 8 % in Nigeria .
When looking at corporate users in these regions , the numbers are similar : 23 % of corporate users in South Africa , 29 % in Kenya and 35 % in Nigeria encountered such local threats within 2020 .
Unfortunately , there has been an increase in the sophistication of such threats – which may be hiding on the user ’ s device within a seemingly legitimate file for a while , to fly under the radar and only strike later .
Palo Alto Networks establishes world-class cybersecurity consulting group
Palo Alto Networks is establishing a new cybersecurity consulting group to help enterprises respond to emerging threats as they navigate an increase in cyberattacks .
The newly expanded Unit 42 combines former Crypsis security consultants , who respond to 1,300 plus incidents a year , with the company ’ s veteran Unit 42 threat research team , which has been fighting emerging cyberthreats since 2014 . Together , they will help organisations tackle the most complex cyberthreats – from ransomware to state-sponsored espionage – bringing a relentless passion for protecting our digital way of life .
“ Our increasing reliance on technology has turned cybersecurity into an existential matter . We wake up every day focused on collecting and analysing the most up-to-date threat intelligence and applying our analysis to effectively respond to cyberattacks ,” said
Wendi Whitmore , Senior Vice President , Cyber Consulting and Threat Intelligence , Palo Alto Networks and Leader of Unit 42 .
The combined team will deliver a powerful set of services that enable organisations to respond to threats more rapidly than ever and will introduce new proactive services that closely complement Palo Alto Networks product offerings . It will also expand incident response services to more countries in Asia , Europe and the Middle East . •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 40
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