E-Business
Kaspersky Sees Abuse of Personal Information, Sophisticated Attacks in 2020
Kaspersky researchers have shared their vision on Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) in 2020, pointing out how the landscape of targeted attacks will change in the coming months. The overall trend shows that threats will grow in sophistication and become more targeted, diversifying under the influence of external factors, such as development and propagation of machine learning, technologies for deepfakes development, or tensions around trade routes between Asia and Europe.
The predictions were developed based on the changes that Global Research and Analysis Team witnessed over 2019 to support the cybersecurity community with some guidelines and insights. The latter, along with a series of industry and technology threat predictions, will help to prepare for the challenges that lie in the coming 12 months.
The abuse of personal information: from deep fakes to DNA leaks
After a number of personal data leaks that happened in the past years, the number of personal details available made it easier for attackers to perform targeted attacks, based on victims leaked info. The bar has been raised, and in 2020 the threat actors will dive deeper, hunting for more sensitive leaks, such as biometric data.
The researchers pointed out a number of key technologies, which could lure victims of personal data abuse in the attackers’ traps, among them is publicly discussed video and audio Deep Fakes that can be automated and support profiling and creation of scams and social engineering schemes.
Other targeted threat predictions for 2020 include:
– False flag attacks reach a whole new level. This will develop further, with threat actors seeking not only to avoid attribution but also to actively lay the blame on someone else. Commodity malware, scripts, publicly available security tools or administrator software, mixed with a couple of false flags, where security researchers are hungry for any small clue, might be enough to divert authorship to someone else.
– Ransomware shifts toward targeted threats. A potential twist might be that, instead of making files unrecoverable, threat actors will threaten to publish data that they have stolen from the victim company.
– New banking regulations in EU open new attack vectors. As banks will be required to open their infrastructure and data to third parties who wish to provide services to bank customers, it is likely that attackers will seek to abuse these new mechanisms with new fraudulent schemes.
– More infrastructure attacks and attacks against non-PC targets. Determined threat actors have, for some time, been extending their toolsets beyond Windows, and even beyond PC systems, VPNFilter and Slingshot, for example, targeted networking hardware.
– Cyber attacks focus on trade routes between Asia and Europe. There are several ways this could play out. They include a growth in political espionage as governments seek to secure their interests at home and abroad. It is likely to extend also to technological espionage in situations of potential or real economic crisis and resulting instability.
– New interception capabilities and data exfiltration methods. Use of supply chains will continue to be one of the most difficult delivery methods to address. It is likely that attackers will continue to expand this method through manipulated software containers, for example, and abuse of packages and libraries.
– Mobile APTs develop faster. There are no good reasons to think this will stop any time soon. However, due to the increased attention given to this subject by the security community, we believe the number of attacks being identified and analysed in detail will also increase.
– Personal information abuse grows, armed with AI. It is very similar to some of the techniques discussed for driving election advertisements through social media. This technology is already in use and it is just a matter of time before some attackers take advantage of it.
“The future holds so many possibilities that there are likely to be things that are not included in our predictions. The extent and complexity of the environments in which attacks play out offer so many possibilities. In addition, no single threat research team has complete visibility of the operations of APT threat actors. We will continue to try and anticipate the activities of APT groups and understand the methods they employ, while providing insights into their campaigns and the impact they have,” says Vicente Diaz, security researcher at Kaspersky.
The predictions have been developed thanks to Kaspersky threat intelligence services from around the world. On November 20, Kaspersky GReAT researchers will also share their predictions for upcoming changes in the world of major threat actors in 2020.
Microsoft has announced plans to invest $80 billion in the 2025 fiscal year to expand its data centre infrastructure.
The investment will focus on supporting the training of artificial intelligence (AI) models and the deployment of AI and cloud-based applications.
The company disclosed this initiative in a blog post on Friday, emphasising its commitment to advancing AI and cloud technology.
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, investment in AI has surged as businesses across sectors strive to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services.
AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centres that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters.
Before now, Microsoft has invested billions of dollars to enhance its AI infrastructure, broadening its data centre network.
Analysts project Microsoft’s fiscal 2025 capital expenditure, including capital leases, to reach $84.24 billion, according to Visible Alpha.
The company’s capital expenditure in the first quarter of the fiscal year rose by 5.3% to $20 billion.
As the primary backer of OpenAI, the tech giant is considered a leading player among Big Tech companies in the AI race, owing to its exclusive partnership with the AI chatbot developer.
More than half of Microsoft’s $80 billion investment will be allocated to the United States, Brad Smith, vice chair and president noted in the blog post.
“Today, the United States leads the global AI race due to the investment of private capital and innovations by American companies of all sizes, from dynamic start-ups to well-established enterprises,” Smith remarked.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has announced plans to significantly ramp up enforcement and impose substantial fines on data controllers and processors that violate the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) of 2023.
Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner/CEO. NDPC
This was disclosed by Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner/CEO of the Commission, in a video message outlining the Commission’s 2025 agenda, shared on the agency’s social media platforms.
A statement issued by the Communications Division of the Commission on Friday quoted Dr Olatunji as saying that, “For data controllers and processors, there is going to be massive enforcement. We have never really issued any fine, but going forward, you’ll hear us giving heavy penalties.”
He assured Nigerians that their data rights, as guaranteed by the NDPA, will be fully protected, and defaulting data controllers and processors will face strict consequences.
The Commissioner highlighted the NDPC’s extensive engagements with stakeholders across public and private sectors to promote awareness and compliance with the Commission’s mandate.
The efforts, he said, have resulted in the signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with key organisations, including the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), the Data Privacy Office of Canada, and the Dubai International Financial Centre Authority (DIFC), among others.
Dr Olatunji also shared that the NDPC will advance to the second phase of its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDP-SRAP 2023-2027) in 2025.
This phase is expected to create job opportunities within Nigeria’s data protection and privacy ecosystem, particularly for young people.
The Commission has been actively training Nigerians in data protection and privacy, creating a pool of globally competitive experts within the data protection sector in 2025.
“There are a lot of data controllers and processors that are looking for people to work with them. Now those that we have trained in 2024, those we have certified, we are going to do more this year to actually launch them to the job market where they can really work with data controllers and processors,” he said.
Additionally, the NDPC will continue nationwide efforts to promote data protection awareness.
The Commission aims to educate citizens about their rights and the importance of data privacy while reminding data controllers and processors of their obligations under the NDP Act.
Dr Olatunji emphasised that these initiatives are part of the broader goal to embed a culture of data protection and privacy in Nigeria.
As part of its international engagement efforts, Nigeria will host the “Network of African Data Protection Authorities Conference” in May 2025, with over 40 nations with existing data protection laws expected to attend.
According to Dr Olatunji, this global event will position Nigeria as a leader in the data protection ecosystem, and bring significant economic benefits to the country.
The NDPC reiterated its commitment to ensuring data protection and privacy become integral to Nigeria’s digital landscape, building trust and fostering economic growth, the statement added.
Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), achieved a 275 percent increase in revenue for the year 2024, according to Tola Odeyemi, postmaster general.
At the beginning of the year, NIPOST set an ambitious target of generating N10 billion in revenue.
Although specific figures for the end of the year were not disclosed, the reported increase suggests a significant recovery for the postal service, which had previously faced consistent decline.
Odeyemi, who made the disclosure while listing NIPOST’s achievements for the year recently, attributed the growth to a series of reforms aimed at enhancing service quality and eliminating revenue leakages
The NIPOST boss detailed the steps taken to boost revenue, noting the implementation of Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in high-transaction areas, which has streamlined payment processes and improved customer experience.
She said, “One of the major achievements for us in 2024 has been a 275% increase in revenue from 2023. We achieved this by plugging a lot of the revenue leakages that we have by deploying PoS terminals for payment in our high transaction areas, as well as ensuring that our quality of service goes up.”
Looking ahead, Odeyemi outlined NIPOST’s plans to sustain this growth trajectory.
She said the organisation has embarked on renovations and upgrades of key locations in Abuja, Lagos, and Kaduna, alongside enhancements to the Postal Institute, which is central to the agency’s change management initiatives.
Furthermore, she stated that NIPOST is gearing up for several major developments in 2025, including the rollout of a national addressing system and digital postcode services, specialised logistics for agriculture and healthcare, and a relaunch of its financial services.
“There will be infrastructure upgrades, which will take place across the Federation and there will be an increase in access to government services through your local NIPOST location,” she said.
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