E-Business
Mobile Malware Attacks Decline in Africa in 2021
While analysing the threat landscape of African countries, Kaspersky experts saw a steady decline in attacks on mobile devices in the region, as cybercriminals consolidated their efforts to focus on more complicated, dangerous and profitable threats instead. These and other findings are featured in Kaspersky’s Mobile Threats in 2021 report.
Overall, in 2021, Nigerian users faced 59% mobile malware attacks, while other countries in the region have seen even more dramatic changes of their mobile threat landscape: Mozambique saw a 48% decrease, followed by Botswana (58%), South Africa (38%), Ethiopia (69%) and Ghana (76%). The only countries where the share of attacks increased was Angola, where mobile malware actually grew by 12%.
This dynamic is a reflection of the global trend, as cybercriminals tend to invest less and less into the mainstream threats that are successfully neutralised by modern security solutions.
Instead, they choose to invest more into new mobile malware that has become increasingly complex, featuring new ways to steal users’ banking and gaming credentials, as well as other strands of personal data.
For instance, in 2021 Kaspersky detected more than 95,000 new mobile banking Trojans in the world, but the number of attacks using such malware remained similar. Additionally, the share of Trojans – malicious programs capable of executing remote commands – doubled, reaching 8.8% in 2021.
In addition to the strategic changes on the mobile threat landscape, experts also attribute the overall decline of mobile malware in 2021 to the enormous wave of attacks seen at the beginning of lockdown in 2020 as users were forced to work from home.
That period also saw increased use of various video conferencing and entertainment apps, increasing the volume and spread of attack opportunities. Now that the situation has stabilised, cybercriminal activity declined as a result.
“Indeed, there have been fewer mobile attacks in general, however, the attacks we are still seeing have become more complex and harder to spot. Cybercriminals tend to mask malicious apps under the guise of legitimate applications, which can often be downloaded from official app stores.
“On top of that, with mobile banking and payment apps becoming even more widespread, there is a higher chance of cybercriminals targeting these more actively.
“Staying cautious and careful on the Internet and avoiding downloading unknown apps is good practice, but I also strongly recommend using a reliable solution. When it comes to the security of finances in particular, it is better to be safe than sorry,” comments Tatyana Shishkova, security researcher at Kaspersky.
To protect yourself from mobile threats, Kaspersky shares the following recommendations:
- It is safer to download your apps only from official stores like Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon Appstore. Apps from these markets are not 100% failsafe, but at least they get checked by shop representatives and there is some filtration system — not every app can get onto these stores.
- Check the permissions of apps that you use and think carefully before permitting an app, especially when it comes to high-risk permissions such as Accessibility Services. The only permission that a flashlight app needs is to the flashlight (which doesn’t even involve camera access).
- A reliable security solution helps you detect malicious apps and adware before they start behaving badly on your devices. Conveniently, you can get protection, like Kaspersky consumer products, directly from mobile operators.
- If you are a business, consider taking a holistic approach to the protection of your security perimeter, selecting the most appropriate one for your company.
- iPhone users have some privacy controls provided by Apple, and users can block app access to photos, contacts and GPS features if they think these permissions are unnecessary.
- A good piece of advice is to update your operating system and important apps as updates become available. Many safety issues can be solved by installing updated versions of software.
Kaspersky calls on the mobile industry to enhance cyber protection at all levels, including security for their users, by providing tailored cybersecurity services. Kaspersky Consumer Business Alliances enable companies to offer their customers complete cybersecurity portfolios by backing them with Kaspersky’s global support and expertise.
Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) is in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and needs urgent reforms to revive it, according to Isaac Kekemeke, board chairman of the service.
Kekemeke, who spoke at a workshop organised for NIPOST staff in Abuja yesterday, added that it is now time to go the whole hog to reform and make NIPOST fulfill its destiny to compare and compete favourably with multinational postal agencies.
“The approach may not be palatable at all times but we need to take the tough but necessary decisions to exit the intensive care unit. We are either out of ICU in good health or head for the morgue. NIPOST either functions effectively now as a commercialised state operator or gets privatised, so that myself, the PMG, and a good number of you risk the loss of our jobs,” the chairman said.
No doubt, he added, “Change is not always easy as many loathe change because of the uncertainty it brings but it is in my place to urge you all to embrace the change we advocate.”
The Internet Society’s six-month Fellowship Peering program continues to help make internet access affordable, dependable, and resilient. The program, according to the global charitable organisation, is targeted for fifteen professionals in the peering and interconnection sector.
“It offers a unique opportunity to build the skills, knowledge, and networks necessary to improve local Internet infrastructure and policy,” according to the site’s description.
The fellowship participants will participate in a comprehensive curriculum that includes virtual training sessions, collaborative forums, and technical and advocacy-based instruction on routing, Internet Exchange Points, and policy.
The fellowship culminates in attendance at a global peering event, which provides direct experience and networking opportunities with important voices in the Internet community.
The fellowship enhances participants’ impact in their particular nations by developing engagement with seasoned professionals and boosting regional and global collaboration. The program invites fellows to return to their communities prepared to expand interconnectivity, improve policy conditions, and make a meaningful contribution to the development of the Internet ecosystem.
Applicants must have at least three years of Internet experience and be based in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, or Asia-Pacific.
Eligibility also required proper travel documentation and availability to attend important events such as African Peering and Interconnection Forum, Latin American and Caribbean Network Operators Forum, or Peering Asia, as well as a commitment of roughly four hours per week over six months.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called for the withdrawal of the amendment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 because it seeks to regulate the activities of bloggers operating within the territorial boundaries of Nigeria.
The organisation in its letter urged Mr Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, and Mr Tajudeen Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, to “immediately withdraw the repressive bill.”
The titled A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023, to Mandate the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Territorial Boundaries of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms and for Related Matters among others intends to regulate bloggers, including by requiring all bloggers to register local offices and join recognised national association for bloggers.
Currently, the bill has passed its first and second reading in the Senate.
In the letter signed its deputy director, Mr Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP asked Mr Akpabio and Mr Abbas “to ensure that any amendment to the Nigeria Data Protection Act promotes and protects the rights of bloggers and other journalists and does not undermine the fundamental human rights of Nigerians.”
It demanded an end to “the imposition of unnecessary restrictions on the rights of Nigerians online and Internet-based content.”
In the letter dated April 12, 2025, the group said, “This bill is a blatant attempt to bring back and fast-track the obnoxious and widely rejected social media bill by the back-door.”
“If passed, the bill would also be used to ban major social media platforms—including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and independent bloggers if they ‘continuously fail to establish/register and maintain physical offices in Nigeria for a period of 30 days.
“Lawmakers should not become arbiters of truth in the public and political domain. Regulating the activities of bloggers and forcing them to associate would have a significant chilling effect on freedom of expression and lead to censorship or restraint.
“Should the National Assembly and its leadership fail to withdraw the bill to regulate the activities of bloggers, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure it is never implemented in the public interest,” the organisation warned.
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