E-Business
Hackers Attacked Businesses 22m Times In Last 7 Days Globally
According to data compiled and analyzed by Atlas VPN, hackers attacked businesses more than 22 million times during the last week worldwide. Over 63% of these hacking attempts were malware attacks.
Malware is a type of software that tends to either steal users’ files or encrypt them and render them useless until a password is entered that will decrypt the data. Hackers demand a ransom in order for you to retrieve the password, hence the commonly used name ransomware.
Attacks monitored also include phishing and Command & Control (C&C) attacks.
Phishing is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details by pretending to be a trusted figure, such as a bank employee or even your colleague.
A Command & Control (C&C) attack is when hackers attempt to take over control of a system and then steal or delete data. C&C attacks can also be used as a part of a phishing scam or a way to infect the network with malware.
Atlas VPN has extracted and organized the data acquired from a cybersecurity giant Akamai, that provides real-time data on cyberattacks that their corporate customers are under. They catch a significant amount of attacks globally since they are one of the largest distributed computing platforms in the world. They are responsible for serving between 15%-30% of web traffic globally.
On average, there were 3.26 million cyberattacks daily throughout last week. From the chart, we can see that hackers carried most cyberattacks on April 15, with a total of over 3.6 million intrusion attempts. Interestingly, most of these cyberattacks were malware attacks.
The reason being, it is usually the easiest way to infiltrate companies’ networks and to steal or freeze data and to demand a ransom. On average, there were 2,070,297 malware attacks per day during last week. Malware attacks comprised 63% of the total attacks.
In comparison, phishing attacks and C&C attacks comprised 11% and 26% of total attacks, respectively.
It seems that even some hackers took the last Saturday (April 18) off, since there were -12% fewer attacks than the average day.
Compared to the previous week, (April 6-12) where the total volume of attacks was 23,807,517, this week hackers attacked enterprises around 1 million times less.
During the last 30 days, cybercriminals tried to infiltrate corporate networks nearly 100 million times.
Hackers attacked businesses using malware over 57 million times. This comprises almost 58% of the total cyber attacks.
Moreover, C&C attacks were the second most common type used by hackers with over 27 million attacks in the last 30 days. In other words, C&C amounts to over 27% of all attacks on enterprises.
Finally, phishing scams are the least common type of attacks used by hackers, with a total of over 15 million attacks in the same time-frame. This accounts for over 15% of the total volume of attacks.
It seems that hackers do not have a preference for the day of the week or the time of the month for cyberattacks.
The smallest number of total attacks happened on March 23 (Monday) and April 18 (Saturday).
In contrast, the most active days were April 5 (Sunday) and April 6 (Monday). In these two days alone, cybercriminals tried to infiltrate corporate networks 8,821,850 times.
As mentioned in the methodology, Akamai services around 15-30% of web traffic worldwide. Meaning, at most, they are able to detect less than one-third of the total attacks.
Taking this into account, a conservative estimate of the total volume of hacker attacks on business per month could reach a staggering 300,000,000, yes 300 million.
If we would lean towards the fact that Akamai only catches 15% of cyber-attacks globally, then the number of actual attacks happening per month could reach as much as 600 million.
By these estimations, hackers could be attacking corporations 20 million times per day globally.
This is a rough estimate; however, the numbers do not seem so extreme considering the fact that at least 7.9 billion records, including credit card numbers and other highly sensitive information, have been exposed through hacker attacks in 2019.
In 2020, due to the increased internet usage and more people working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic, this could be a record year for both hacker attacks and the number of records breached.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
All communities in Abia State are to be connected to Internet Service within the next 9 months, according to Dr. Alex Otti, state governor.
Otti stated this at the Nnamdi Azikiwe State Secretariat premises at Umuahia, the state capital, while flagging off the first phase of the Umuahia Dedicated Internet Access/Wide Area Network And Managed Network Services Project (Project), saying that it promises to re-engineer efficiency and flexibility in operations and interactions within and amongst institutions, enhance policy execution, and engender a culture of outcome-oriented competition amongst civil servants.
The Project is being handled by iPNX, a major internet service provider.
At the ceremony, Otti, said the project includes distributing high-performance digital tools, laying fibre optic cables in public institutions, and installing infrastructure for high-speed data transmission.
He added that the initiative focuses on improving leadership efficiency, empowering civil servants with digital tools, and enhancing service delivery.
Transitioning to digital platforms would streamline government processes, enable faster communication among Ministries, departments, and Areas (MDAs), and improve engagement with development partners and the global community.
The governor also announced a mandatory digital literacy requirement for civil servants, making proficiency in technology essential for career growth.
Assuring that while the government would provide training, those unwilling to embrace technology risk becoming uncompetitive in the evolving civil service structure.
Plans are underway to expand digital access across Abia, with an agreement already in place to lay fiber optic cables in Aba, Umuahia, and Ohafia.
Otti directed Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, chief information officer to ensure that within nine months, every community in Abia must have reliable network service, enabling businesses to thrive virtually.
The Governor urged the people of Abia to embrace technology as a tool for empowerment rather than a replacement for human roles as the use of technology ought to be on enhancing service delivery and economic development, as well as keeping human decision-making at the core of governance.
The commencement of the initiative marks a major milestone in Abia’s journey towards a fully digital economy.
Ilukwe, described the project as a critical foundation for a digital government, emphasising its role in modernising service delivery.
Ilukwe said Phase I of the initiative prioritises multi-tenant buildings and complexes housing multiple MDAs and assured that MDAs not included in this phase would be covered in subsequent stages.
“Even as we are rounding off this phase, we are already preparing for the next, by the end of this service year, the entire government offices in Umuahia will be interconnected on a single network,” Ilukwe said.
Mr Ejovi Aror, group managing director, ipNX, expressed gratitude to Gov. Alex Otti for the opportunity to be part of the state’s digital transformation journey.
“This partnership signals the beginning of a new chapter in the journey towards building a digitally connected, technologically advanced, and economically empowered Abia State,” Aror said.
Visa, global payment services giant, has announced plans to establish a data centre infrastructure in Nigeria.
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
According to a statement by Stanley Nkwocha, senior special assistant to the president on media and communications (office of the vice-president) on Friday, Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, spoke during a courtesy visit to Vice-President Kashim Shettima at the presidential villa in Abuja.
“This is in addition to its investments of over $1 billion in the country, including a substantial technological partnership with @moniepoint to foster digital payment solutions, a $200 million investment in Interswitch, and a partnership with @thriveagric to empower smallholder farmers and enhance food security in Nigeria,” the statement reads.
During the meeting, Torre said the plan to establish the data centre infrastructure aims to bring new technologies into the Nigerian market that would bolster the nation’s growing digital economy.
“Visa has been making investments and will continue to make these investments in Nigeria,” he said.
Responding, Shettima welcomed Visa’s expansion efforts, assuring the delegation that the partnership between Visa and the Nigerian government would continue to flourish.
The vice-president commended the company for investing in ThriveAgric, noting that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply committed to repositioning the agriculture sector, which remains a top priority in its 8-point agenda.
“Nigeria is where the action is. Of the 10 fintechs in Africa, about eight are in Nigeria, with moniepoint as the newest addition,” Shettima said.
“Agriculture is key to the 8-point agenda of the present administration. President @officialABAT is really keen on repositioning the agriculture industry here, and we have to invest in technology, we have to invest in modernisation.”
On January 23, Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company, announced it secured investment from Visa to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for central and eastern Europe and Vice-President Kashim Shettima
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has approved N242.8m for the procurement of a Microsoft 365 licence for its Internal Revenue Service (FCT-IRS) as part of efforts to digitise the service’s operations.
Mr Michael Ango, acting executive chairman of FCT-IRS, disclosed this after the FCT Executive Committee meeting chaired by Mr Nyesom Wike, the minister of FCTA, in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ango said that the FCTA was making significant investments in technology to enhance revenue generation and collection.
“So, this is also one of those investments in technology that the FCT is undertaking.
“The licence, if procured, will enhance our ability to move most of our manual processes into automated processes.
“It will enhance our ability to communicate within our offices,” he said.
The executive chairman added that the move would also reduce the use of paper and ensure better record-keeping through the storage of information and documents in the cloud.
According to him, “The licence will essentially enhance our operations and assist us in generating revenue for the development of the FCT under Wike’s leadership.”
NGO Blasts MultiChoice for Tariff Hike in Nigeria, Slash in South Africa
Tony Elumelu Foundation Grants $15m to 3,000 African Entrepreneurs
SEC Declares War on Capital Market Fraudsters
Telcos Mull Introduction of Different Tariff Plans for Different States
NESREA Urges Nigerians to Dispose Batteries Properly to Avoid Hazards
General News3 days agoNigeria, Kenya among Nations Running out of HIV Drugs – WHO
News3 days agoNAFDAC Destroys over N1 Trillion Fake Drugs in Anambra
Telecom3 days ago9mobile Denies Shutdown Rumours, Promises Improved Services
Telecom3 days agoTikTok and Truecaller Face NDPC Investigation Amid Data Protection Concerns
E-Business3 days agoVisa to Establish Data Centre in Nigeria to ‘Boost Digital Economy’
E-Financial3 days agoNigeria Still Open Crypto Business despite $80Bn Lawsuit against Binance – FG
News3 days agoBolt Shares the Spirit of Ramadan with Kano Drivers-Partners
General News2 days agoNigeria to Launch $40 Million Fund for Tech Startups