FINAL WORD
“
OVER AND ABOVE
THE POTENTIAL OF HUMAN
ERROR, HOWEVER, TARGETED
CYBERATTACKS ON INDUSTRIAL
CONTROL SYSTEMS ARE ALSO AN
INCREASING CHALLENGE IN AFRICA.
“However, we must be cognisant of the
fact that threats are just as prevalent –
in number, design and severity – as we
transition through what is being dubbed the
Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“And, as the world we live in evolves and
becomes ultra-connected, we need to
change our approach to how we protect
literally everything around us. What we
build and adopt today, and tomorrow, must
become secure-by-design.”
Industrial networks are increasingly
coming under fire
Digitalisation and adoption of Industry
4.0 standards are in the pipeline for many
industrial networks. In fact, globally, 81%
of organisations see operational network
digitalisation as an important or very
important task.
“Threats of malware, ransomware and even
advanced persistent threats remains as
powerful as ever.
“We are seeing that larger organisations,
such as city authorities and enterprises, are
the fastest growing targets for such attacks –
and what’s concerning is that in many cases
the owners are not aware that their facilities
are exposed to cyber risks and hacking.
“And, in reality, the more complex and
connected industrial infrastructures become,
the more advanced protection these
networks demand. Countering modern
cyberthreats to critical and civil service
infrastructures requires a 360-degree view of
the threats and actors – and implementing
the right defence solutions and programmes
that help maintain immunity to even
previously unseen threats.”
Consumer purses are still being stalked
“The challenge, however, is that for all the
benefits that connected infrastructure
brings, there are associated cybersecurity
risks,” said Badenhorst.
Despite automation, the human factor can
still put industrial processes at risk, where
employee errors or unintentional actions
were behind 52% of incidents affecting
operational technology and industrial control
system (OT/ICS) networks last year.
“Over and above the potential of human
error, however, targeted cyberattacks
on industrial control systems are also an
increasing challenge in Africa,” added
Badenhorst. “And this has included
cyberattacks on critical and service
infrastructure systems, such as power
and water utility services to dam control
facilities, or even water treatment facilities,
for example.”
76
INTELLIGENTCIO
“Fintech is a real phenomonem in Africa,”
said Opil. “Advances in Fintech bolster the
promise of inclusion in financial markets
by creating more widespread access, and
therein more financial freedom for citizens.”
Fintech markets across Africa experienced
a massive surge in growth in the last two
years and the continent is now home to 491
Fintech startups.
From these developments, Africa already
has 122 million active users of mobile
financial services – more than half of the
global total – and with ongoing expansions
of the mobile money value proposition and
reforms underway in three of Africa’s most
populated countries – Nigeria, Ethiopia and
Egypt – this could lead to over 110 million
new active mobile money accounts in the
next five years.
“However, with more pervasive access and
activity comes increased threats, and as our
research shows, malware designed to steal
credentials and money from users’ bank
accounts is on the rise,” said Opil.
Kaspersky research highlights that mobile
banking Trojans are one of the most rapidly
advancing, flexible and dangerous types of
malware. These Trojans usually steal funds
directly from mobile users’ bank accounts,
but sometimes their purpose is changed to
steal other kinds of credentials. The malware
generally looks like a legitimate app, such as
a banking application – and when a victim
tries to reach their genuine bank app, the
attackers gain access to that too.
“Fintech – and the promise of access and
financial freedom it enables – represents
such an important evolution for African
markets and the rapid rise of mobile
financial malware is a real threat to this
promise,” said Opil.
“Fintech markets will undoubtedly continue
to grow and coupled with this, we need to
see some reforms put in place – whether
lead by governments, financial services
providers or both – that will ensure proper
defence mechanisms are being built into
these services, as a standard, to better
protect users against a data breach.”
As all market indicators show, attacks on
critical infrastructure, industrial and financial
systems will remain major threats faced
by a number of emerging nations in Africa
– and that the attack methods, tools and
techniques will continue to grow in number,
type and sophistication.
“For this reason, and in this ever-changing
digital world – and the evolving threat
landscape it has birthed – we at Kaspersky
believe that the concept of cybersecurity will
soon become obsolete, and cyber-immunity
will take its place,” said Badenhorst.
“The notion of cyberimmunity is about
developing an ecosystem where everything
connected is protected, where all systems,
devices and services are secure-by-design.
“And, this should be the goal post for
building digitally transformed, inclusive
and sustainably secure connected markets
in Africa.” n
www.intelligentcio.com