Africa has been undergoing a digital transformation, and hackers seem to have shifted their attention to the continent. According to a study by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, malware has become a common problem with some countries getting more attacks than others.
South Africa was the most targeted country in the first half of 2021, with 32 million attacks, followed by Kenya with 23.1 million attacks. Nigeria comes third with 16.7 million attacks followed by Ethiopia with 8 million attacks.
Kenya experienced a 13 percent decrease in attacks compared to the other countries in the period. South Africa’s attacks increased by 14 percent, while Nigeria and Ethiopia had a 23 percent and 20 percent increase respectively.
Overall, Africa saw a 5 percent increase in attacks in the first six months of 2021. As the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, remote working and studying has become a norm and more companies have embraced technological advancements in their day-to-day operations.
Read: Facebook Users In Africa Among Those Targeted By Malware
In this respect, hackers have focused on consumer and corporate vulnerabilities in attempts to gain access to sensitive data. Kaspersky says that a lack of user education and understanding of cybersecurity has contributed to the high rates of malware attacks.
“This has contributed to a large number of personal devices still not having any form of cybersecurity software installed,” Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa said.
“Malware can get onto a device in several ways. For example, clicking on an infected link or advert, opening an attachment in a spam email, or downloading a compromised app. This means proactive malware protection is essential to safeguard individual users and corporates against these threats,” he added.
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