Kaspersky has revealed that cyberthreats declined by 10 per cent in Nigeria in 2023.
The cybersecurity firm disclosed this during its 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend, META 2024, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to its experts, these cyber threats included those caused by web pages, emails, or web service vulnerabilities.
In a statement, the experts said, “Despite the decline in cyber threats in Nigeria, banking malware attacks designed to collect online banking credentials and other sensitive information from infected machines increased by 8 per cent.”
Other African countries recorded declines, too, in 2023. Threats in South Africa decreased by 29 percent, but phishing attacks, which use social engineering tactics to scam people into revealing sensitive information, rose by 29 percent in the country.
Kenya saw a fall in overall threats by 8 per cent. Despite this, the country saw a 68 per cent increase in ransomware attacks, and phishing rose by 19 per cent.
Amin Hasbini, director of the META Research Center Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky, highlighted the impact of emerging technologies on the threat landscape. The expert noted that integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) into various sectors has become a significant risk factor influencing the scale of modern threats.
“The cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve, and threats become more diverse and sophisticated, particularly with the emergence of advanced technologies like AI within the META region,” Hasbini said.
Kaspersky’s further revelation revealed that Turkiye had the highest number of users affected by online threats (41.8 per cent), followed by Kenya (39.2 per cent), Qatar (38.8 per cent), and South Africa (35 per cent) in 2023. Oman (23.4 per cent), Egypt (27.4 per cent), Saudi Arabia (29.9 per cent), and Kuwait (30.8 per cent) reported fewer affected users.
“As the cybersecurity landscape continues to shift, Kaspersky emphasises the importance of staying ahead of emerging threats and implementing robust security measures to protect individuals and organisations across the META region,” Hasbini added.
