E-Business
Preventing, Mitigating Ransomware with Cyber Situational Awareness
If you’re familiar with mafia movies then you’re familiar with extortion – the practice of obtaining something, especially money, through force or threats.
Extortion has been around for centuries – well before “The Godfather” or “Goodfellas.” Even cyber extortion, which extends this criminal activity into the digital world, isn’t new.
What is new, however, is the wide variety of methods that are used by the bad guys to get their money.
Three main tactics are behind cyber extortion: the threat of distributed denial of service (DDoS), the threat of data compromise and ransomware.
DDoS attacks are one of the most popular means to facilitate extortion. These types of attacks typically target business-critical websites in order to increase the likelihood of payment, usually via Bitcoin (BTC), and can have crippling effects on organizations.
In certain cases, such as when targeting hosting providers, the threat actor may add more pressure to pay by using the negative publicity associated with service downtime as a threat.
A second method of extortion involves the potential release of compromised data. This method is dependent on the fact that the target’s data has already been compromised.
The threat of its release to the public domain is used as blackmail in order to extort money from the affected entity.
A third type of extortion, and the one most often in the news as of late, is ransomware – malicious software (malware) that restricts access to the computer system it has infected.
The malware demands that a ransom be paid before restoring access to affected resources.
Ransomware can prevent access to many features of a victim’s machine, including files, applications and the operating system itself.
Because ransomware is an ever-evolving threat that can be more challenging to address than other cyber extortion tactics, let’s take a closer look at how it works and how to prevent and mitigate it.
At a high-level, the ransomware process is fairly standard. Files are encrypted and the attackers, who hold the decryption key, will only allow the target to decrypt the files after the required BTC ransom is paid. Specific details of the attack, however, will depend on the variant.
Until recently ransomware has been delivered most commonly via drive-by-downloads from exploit kits, or through spam emails that either contain malicious attachments or encourage recipients to visit websites hosting malicious content.
But we see that starting to change with threat actors using more targeted methods to achieve their objective, such as spear-phishing emails purporting to be from a job applicant or including the name, job title and job-relevant information of the recipient.
The disclosure that some organizations are paying the fee to unencrypt data likely provides further motivation for these types of attacks. In fact, when the actor estimates there’s a high likelihood of payment of the ransom fee they invest in more reconnaissance which can further increase the likelihood of infection.
As ransomware becomes big business, research on the dark web reveals a number of services being advertised to make it easy for beginners with low technical understanding to execute ransomware attacks with success.
Everything they need is available on a USB stick for $1,200 or they can take advantage of a hosted service in return for 5 percent commission on the ransom payments received.
So how can you combat cyber extortion? Cyber situational awareness can give you greater insights into the tools and processes used by actors that employ DDoS-based extortion and compromised data release extortion.
Advanced knowledge of the typical demands of a threat actor and their capabilities can help you make difficult decisions if presented with such a scenario and help you prevent future attacks.
Mitigating ransomware threats is more complex. It requires a combination of technical and process controls and company-wide engagement – from employees, to executives, to IT security teams. Cyber situational awareness can help you understand the infection vectors of the malware and apply the appropriate security controls to mitigate the risk of infection.
This includes insights you can use to raise staff awareness of how ransomware attacks occur and help you devise technical and procedural controls to prevent infection and to develop ransomware response procedures in the case of infection.
Of course ensuring that backups are maintained and are separate from the network can increase resilience to such attacks. In addition, several decryption tools have been released but, in the cat and mouse game between ransomware and such tools, their effectiveness tends to be short-lived; ransomware developers are continuously developing encryption methods to evade them.
As defenders, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and innovation can be hard, but it is essential in order to effectively prevent and mitigate the effects of extortion on your business.
With cyber situational awareness you can learn about the actors involved in extortion and their tactics, tools and motivations. With this knowledge you can more effectively align your defenses and make better decisions in the face of an attack.
Alastair Paterson, CEO and Co-Founder of Digital Shadows
Media Rights Agenda (MRA), has unveiled a visual brief emphasizing the critical need for responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in journalism, particularly within Nigeria’s evolving media environment.
This is coming ahead of World Press Freedom Day today.
The visual brief, developed under this year’s global theme, “Reporting in the Brave New World – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Press Freedom and the Media,” explores the opportunities and dangers AI poses to media freedom in Nigeria and across the world.
In a statement released in Lagos by John Gbadamosi, its programme officer,MRA noted that AI is quickly changing the way news is produced and consumed, adding that it offers powerful tools that can assist journalists in analysing data, translating stories into local languages, and extend the reach of vital information, especially to underserved areas with limited media infrastructure.
Gbadamosi added that AI can help to ensure that essential news and information are also disseminated to local communities.
However, Gbadamosi warned that the same technology is being weaponised to undermine truth and press freedom, saying: “While AI can be used to advance journalism, it can just as easily be exploited to spread disinformation, create deepfakes, and drown out independent voices with algorithmically generated propaganda.”
According to him, “In Nigeria, journalists face threats that go beyond just physical dangers; such threats now also encompass digital, algorithmic, and systemic harms and challenges, which requires media professionals to ensure that AI enhances, rather than undermines, media freedom and that technology is used to promote the truth, not distort it.”
“The visual brief breaks down key concepts like misinformation, disinformation, mal-information, and information overload, which are increasingly shaping Nigeria’s digital media ecosystem. It also raises concerns about AI-enabled surveillance, political manipulation, and the marginalisation of community-based journalists.”
Gbadamosi stated that the visual brief also advocates support for independent media, transparent AI regulations aligned with Nigeria’s context, increased digital literacy, and stronger accountability from tech companies regarding platform content and influence.
He therefore urged all stakeholders to advocate for responsible AI usage and a free, independent, professional and vibrant media environment in Nigeria, stressing that “when media freedom thrives, democracy lives.”
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has raised the fees for all its products and services, including charges related to data modification on the National Identification Number (NIN) database.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Kayode Adegoke, NIMC’s Head of Corporate Communications, announced that the updated service fees are published on the commission’s official website.
Adegoke noted that the new pricing structure for NIMC’s services and products marks the first comprehensive review of its fees in over a decade.
The statement stated that the revised pricing is designed to align with prevailing operational costs and industry standards, while continuing to ensure that services remain accessible and affordable for all Nigerians.
The statement warned its Front-End Partners (FEPs) to comply with the newly approved rates, stating that any failure to do so could attract strict sanctions, including possible license revocation.
“The new structure ensures that the quality and integrity of our services remain uncompromised. We are committed to protecting the interests of Nigerians through fair and transparent pricing,” the statement read.
NIMC urged the public to report any Front-End Partners (FEPs) found charging beyond the approved rates. Reports can be directed to the Commission’s Inspectorate and Enforcement Unit via email at ieu@nimc.gov.ng
It further reaffirmed its commitment to delivering secure and dependable identity services. A complete list of the revised service fees can be accessed on its official website at www.nimc.gov.ng.
In a related development, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), expressed sincere appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering support in enhancing the National Identity Database (NIDB).
She also extended her gratitude to the Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, and other key partners for their pivotal roles in advancing a sustainable and effective identity management system.
Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption could boost Africa’s gross domestic product by an additional 4.9 percentage points by 2035, as the African economy is reshaped by the emerging technology.
This is according to PwC’s recently released report: Value in Motion. It is based on data-driven scenario analysis, which reveals that globally, AI has the potential to boost economic output by up to 15 percentage points over the next decade.
The global growth dividend from AI varies according to the region and depends on more than technical success – it also hinges on responsible deployment, clear governance, and public and organisational trust, notes the report.
This would effectively add one percentage point to annual growth rates − on par with the growth increment the world began enjoying with 19th century industrialisation.
In other scenarios analysed by PwC, characterised by lower trust and co-operation, the incremental boost to the economy from AI would be more muted at 8%, or in a pessimistic scenario just 1%.
The research finds that rapid reconfiguration of the economy is already under way. PwC analysis indicates the pressure for African businesses to reinvent themselves is at some of the highest levels seen in the last 25 years across six out of nine sectors in Africa.
The $150.54 billion in revenue in Africa is set to shift between companies in 2025 alone, a trend that begun prior to the recent global increase in tariffs.
PwC’s research suggests that over the next decade, industries will reconfigure to meet human needs in new ways, leading to the formation of new ‘domains’ that cross traditional sector lines.
Dion Shango, PwC Africa CEO, explains: “As the structure of the economy transforms, value will increasingly come from organisations that can connect the dots across traditional industry boundaries. By focusing on evolving customer needs and using technology to dramatically change the way business operates, business leaders can unlock a step change in growth.”
According to Google’s Digital Opportunity of Africa report, AI could contribute up to $30 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy by 2030. Africa stands to accelerate its growth through AI as more people gain connectivity and harness technology for good, it notes.
“Across the continent, a new generation of innovators are harnessing technology to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges,” says Google.
In terms of AI’s impact on the climate, PwC’s analysis shows that while AI is set to accelerate growth, the costs of physical climate threats will impose economic constraints.
PwC’s economic modelling suggests that physical climate impacts could result in the African economy being over 12%smaller (globally: 7%) by 2035 in all scenarios than it would have been otherwise.
“Increased AI adoption is expected to lead to increased energy use by data centres. However, modest use of AI to drive energy-efficiency could offset this increased use of energy. PwC estimates that the energy use and emissions impact of AI would be neutral if each additional percentage point of AI use led to innovations which cut energy intensity by just 0.1% globally,” says the report.
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