Kaspersky experts say they expect growing economic turbulence along with the impact of COVID-19 to contribute to an increase in cyber crime across South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria this year.
“Even though every country globally has had to deal with the pandemic in its own way, developing economies across Africa have been especially hard hit by national lockdowns and limited business activity. And thanks to the increased connectedness of people, the rise in unemployment will not only see a spike in traditional crime, but this will also extend to the digital environment – something we are already seeing,” said Enterprise Cyber Security Adviser for Kaspersky in Africa, Lehan van den Heever.
According to Kaspersky, while the increase in these crimes will vary by country, African nations must prepare themselves for the inevitability of increases in malware that already topped 28m by August last year.
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Heever added, “Businesses are under pressure to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market as they struggle to survive these trying times, amplified further by the effects of COVID-19.
“The current landscape will likely lead to bankruptcy and an increase in legal disputes in court. This makes an ideal breeding ground for these malicious groups to operate in. And although such activity has not been rife in Africa yet, the region is not immune to this cyber threat.”
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