E-Business
Kaspersky Warns of Top IT Security Threats in Africa
Despite research showing an overall decrease in certain malware families and types in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in H1 2020 (36% decrease in South Africa, 26% decrease in Kenya and a 2.7% decrease in Nigeria), Kaspersky stresses that the human cyber threat remains rife, where Africa is not immune to the evolving techniques of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), as well as the possibilities of being a future target of hacking-for-hire threat actor groups.
Kaspersky research has found that globally, APT groups are evolving their techniques and are upgrading their toolset to continue stealing sensitive information.
Furthermore, Kaspersky has seen a rise of hackers-for-hire or cyber mercenaries during the first two quarters of 2020. In fact, three cyber mercenary groups have been exposed across the world this year alone.
As this activity has taken place outside of Africa, Kaspersky suspect that these types of actors may have been somewhat forgotten and do not necessarily form part of cyber defence strategies.
However, the region may become a focus of these groups in the coming months and thus, businesses and entities need to have an understanding of these emerging threats, along with the threat of APTs, to be prepared and take proactive steps towards effective cybersecurity.
Hackers-for-hire or cyber mercenaries do not necessarily have monetary motivations like traditional cybercrime. Instead, they steal private data to monetise it in a different way – usually for the purpose of providing advice or insights, based on the data, to share value of a competitive advantage.
For example, a bank might get targeted and have its data analysed to gain an understanding of its market exposure, clients, and back-end systems. A competitor can use that to gain significant benefit. The reality is that in this evolving cyberthreat landscape, no company or government institution can consider themselves safe.
In South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, APT groups are exploiting the current uncertainty around COVID-19 to steal sensitive information. More sophisticated techniques have emerged that delivers malware in non-conventional ways.
While overall malware attacks in South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria decreased during the first two quarters of 2020, certain malware types, such as the STOP ransomware, are proving increasingly popular for certain cybercriminals.
The same applies to financial malware in South Africa and Nigeria as examples. So, even though it decreased in these countries, certain financial malware types are gaining in popularity thanks to their unique techniques which these groups are exploiting to monetise data. This emphasises that attacks are becoming more targeted and at specific companies, in specific regions and for specific purposes.
The top industries under attack in Sub-Saharan Africa in H1 2020 include government, education, healthcare, and military. While government and military present compelling – and obvious – targets, education and healthcare are often used as pivot points to gain access to other institutions. Sometimes, an entity is a victim while other times it is the target.
The top three threat actors in these regions in this regard are TransparentTribe, Oilrig, and MuddyWater.
Says Maher Yamout, Senior Security Research, Global Research & Analysis Team at Kaspersky; “The remainder of the year will likely see APT groups and hacking-for-hire threat actors increase in prominence across the globe.
Africa will continue to see more sophisticated APTs emerge and we also suspect that the hacking-for-hire actor type could target companies in Africa in the future. We also anticipate that cybercriminals will increase targeted ransomware deployment using different ways.
These can range from trojanised cracked software to exploitation across the supply chain of the targeted industry. Data breaches will certainly become more commonplace especially as people will continue to work remotely for the foreseeable future while exposing their systems to the Internet without adequate protection.”
While prevention is ideal, detection is a must. Realistically, no organisation or government department can prevent everything. But if there is an understanding of the technology environment and having the ability to detect any deviation from the baseline, decision-makers will go to great strides in mitigating the risk of compromise and by understanding the threat dynamics, organisations can better protect themselves from evolving cyberattacks.
Federal government has disclosed that efforts are ongoing to link the National Social Register (NSR) to the National Identity Numbers (NIN).
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, explained that the linked data would assist the country to anticipate crises, mobilize resources faster, and ensure aid reaches those who need it the most.
He said harnessing data would save the country and relevant stakeholders the stress and bottlenecks of outdated processes.
He also identified bureaucratic crisis as the biggest crisis in the humanitarian space which stalls responses to humanitarian issues.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday at the National Humanitarian Roundtable programme, the minister said: “People are traumatized by climate change, security threats and economic shock across the country and in the midst of these, we have limited funding.
“The biggest crisis we have is not just the people being killed, the crisis we have is a bureaucratic crisis that does not respond to a humanitarian crisis. Every delay in decision making, every inefficiency in coordination, every shortfall in funding, costs the life of people.
“They say knowledge is power, but knowledge can be destructive too. It can only be power if we use it effectively. By leveraging data and technology, we can anticipate crises; we can mobilize resources faster and ensure aid reaches those who are in need the most and without the bottleneck of outdated processes.
“We are linking the social register to national identity numbers and geotagging all homes of those who are vulnerable across the country so that if there’s any crisis, we don’t need to begin to walk around communities and taking names and asking the States Emergency Management Agency and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for data.
Kaspersky has recently contributed its threat intelligence data to an INTERPOL-led law enforcement action that aimed to disrupt cross-border criminal networks across the African region that cause significant harm to individuals and businesses.
With seven participating countries in Africa, operation Red Card resulted in the arrest of 306 individuals suspected of links to cybercrimes such as mobile banking, investment and messaging app scams, and seizure of 1,842 devices.
Conducted from November 2024 to February 2025, operation Red Card was delivered through INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime (AFJOC) and brought together law enforcers from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo and Zambia.
The operation conduct was preceded by a threat intelligence data exchange, which was enriched by INTERPOL and its private sector partners, including Kaspersky. Kaspersky has shared with the law enforcement agency the results of an analysis of samples of a malicious Android application that targeted users in African countries along with the data on related infrastructure.
Altogether, the cybercriminal cases uncovered by the Red Card participants have preyed on more than 5,000 people. Among operation highlights were:
Nigeria: Nigerian police arrested 130 people, including 113 foreign nationals, for their alleged involvement in cyber-enabled scams such as online casino and investment fraud. The suspects, who converted proceeds to digital assets to conceal their tracks, were recruited from different countries to run the illegal schemes in as many languages as possible.
Zambia: Officers apprehended 14 suspected members of a criminal syndicate that hacked into victims’ phones. The scam involved sending a message containing a malicious link which, when clicked, installed malware on the device.
This allowed hackers to take control of the messaging account, and ultimately the phone, giving them access to banking apps. The hackers were also able to use the victim’s messaging apps to share the malicious link within conversations and groups, enabling the scam to spread.
Rwanda: Rwandan authorities arrested 45 members of a criminal network for their involvement in social engineering scams that defrauded victims of over USD 305,000 in 2024 alone.
Their tactics included posing as telecommunications employees and claiming fake ‘jackpot’ wins to extract sensitive information and gain access to victims’ mobile banking accounts. Another method involved impersonating an injured family member to ask relatives for financial assistance towards hospital bills.
South Africa: Local authorities arrested 40 individuals and seized more than 1,000 SIM cards, along with 53 desktops and towers linked to a sophisticated SIM box fraud scheme. This setup, which reroutes international calls as local ones, is commonly used by criminals to carry out large-scale SMS phishing attacks.
Neal Jetton, INTERPOL’s Director of the Cybercrime Directorate, said: “The success of Operation Red Card demonstrates the power of international cooperation in combating cybercrime, which knows no borders and can have devastating effects on individuals and communities.
“The recovery of significant assets and devices, as well as the arrest of key suspects, sends a strong message to cybercriminals that their activities will not go unpunished.”
“Kaspersky is proud to be part of this collaborative effort led by INTERPOL. The evolving threat landscape in Africa requires a multi-stakeholder dialogue and joint efforts of public and private organisations to address the cybersecurity challenges the region faces today.
The Red Card operation is a notable example of such cooperation, showcasing how the expertise of private companies coupled with extensive investigative capacities of law enforcers can foster a more cyber-resilient environment,” comments Yuliya Shlychkova, Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Kaspersky.
Kaspersky and INTERPOL have a vast record of joint operations aimed at combating cybercrime in the African region, with Kaspersky having supported two editions of INTERPOL’s Africa Cyber Surge operations.
Just recently, Kaspersky was also a contributor to INTERPOL’s joint action with AFRIPOL, which last year became the company’s official partner in fostering a more cybersafe climate across Africa. This partnership focuses on sharing Kaspersky’s extensive data on local cyberthreats and cybercrime trends in the region.
WhatsApp continues to be the best way for people and businesses to get business done in Nigeria. With its efficient features, the WhatsApp Business App has become an indispensable tool for small businesses, helping them streamline communication, enhance customer engagement and drive sales. And we know customers love communicating with businesses over WhatsApp too, as nearly 80% of people globally message with a business at least once a week.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to optimise your business operations, here are five essential WhatsApp Business features that can elevate your efficiency and customer interactions.
1. Catalog – Showcase Your Products and Services
Gone are the days of sending multiple images and descriptions individually to customers. With the Catalog feature, you can create a digital storefront where customers can browse your offerings within WhatsApp. This is just like a mini-website which makes it easier to showcase your products, prices and descriptions in an organised way.
How to Use It: Go to Business Tools > Catalog. Add product images, videos, names, descriptions and pricing.
2. Quick Replies – Save Time on Repetitive Questions
Answering the same customer questions repeatedly? Quick Replies let you create preset responses for frequently asked questions, saving you time and ensuring fast customer service.
How to Use It:Go to Settings > Business Tools > Quick Replies. Create and save responses such as a greeting message or order confirmation. Use the shortcut “/” to insert a quick reply in any chat
3. Labels – Stay Organised and Track Conversations
Managing multiple customer interactions can be overwhelming, but the Labels feature helps by categorising chats in different ways, such as order status or customer type. You can create labels with different colors or names and add the conversations to an entire chat. This keeps your inbox organised and ensures no customer is left waiting.
How to Use It: Open a chat, tap on the three-dot menu > Label Chat. Assign relevant labels like New Customer, Order Placed, Pending Payment.
4. Away Messages – Engage Customers Even When You’re Away
Never miss a customer inquiry again. Away Messages allow you to set up a greeting or away message, ensuring customers receive timely responses even outside business hours.
How to Use It: Go to Business Tools > Away Message / Greeting Message. Set up a custom message and schedule when it should be sent.
5. Meta Verified – For Enhanced Protection and Account Support
A paid subscription that helps your business build credibility with new audiences, Meta Verified can help drive more engagement and grow your brand. With Meta Verified, you’ll receive enhanced account support, can use WhatsApp across multiple devices and easily create a professional WhatsApp web page that’s tailored to you.
How to Use It: Go to Settings or Business Tools > tap Meta Verified.
WhatsApp Business is packed with features designed to help small businesses grow, stay organised, and engage with customers effortlessly. By leveraging these features, you can enhance your customer experience, increase efficiency and ultimately drive more sales. Start your own journey with the WhatsApp Business app here.
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