Guardian Nigeria
African countries, including Nigeria, might be facing serious cybersecurity investment challenges, which are expected to rise in 2024 and fuel various forms of attacks.
Kaspersky, which revealed this, noted that though African countries are undergoing rapid digitalisation and integration into the world’s economy, they face cybersecurity challenges.
As such, it disclosed that in the second half of 2023, 7.55 per cent of Operational Technology computers in Africa were exposed to threats via USBs (that is 20 times more than the figure of Western Europe); 7.2 per cent faced threats by worms (that is 28 times more than in Australia and New Zealand); and 9.1 per cent of OT computers were exposed to spyware (that is 7.7 times more than the figure for North America).
While presenting an industrial cybersecurity review for the countries in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm outlined the key cybersecurity challenges for industrial enterprises in the year ahead.
According to Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) statistics, in the second half of 2023, 32.6 per cent of ICS computers globally had been attacked with malware. It said in the META region, the figure was 36.5 per cent for Turkiye, 36.8 per cent for Africa (27.5 per cent in South Africa, 34.55 per cent in Kenya, 28.8 per cent in Nigeria, 33.17 per cent in Ghana) and 33.5 per cent for the Middle East region.
Kaspersky observed that there is a slight decrease in this figure in the region compared to 2022, which can be the result of industrial organisations paying more attention to cybersecurity.
Kaspersky Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS CERT) predictions for 2024 highlighted the persistence of ransomware threats, the rise of cosmopolitical hacktivism, an outlook on the state of “offensive cybersecurity”, and transformative shifts in logistics and transport threats.
Looking back at 2023, Kaspersky predicted the industrial cybersecurity landscape will continue to evolve, with several key trends emerging. It said the pursuit of efficiency in IIoT and SmartXXX systems fueled an expanded attack surface, while the surge in energy carrier prices led to heightened hardware costs, prompting a strategic shift towards cloud services.
According to it, the growing government involvement in industrial processes also introduced fresh risks, including concerns about data leaks due to underqualified employees and insufficient practices for responsible disclosure.
It said this retrospective analysis laid the groundwork for understanding the cybersecurity landscape faced by industrial enterprises in 2024, such as ransomware targeting high-value entities.
Kaspersky projected ransomware to persist as the primary concern for industrial enterprises in 2024. It said that large organisations, unique product suppliers, and major logistics companies face increased risks, with potentially severe economic and social consequences.
Cybercriminals are expected to target entities capable of substantial ransom payments, causing disruptions in production and delivery. The firm predicted intense geopolitically motivated hacktivism, which comes with more destructive consequences. In addition to country-specific protest movements, the rise of cosmopolitical hacktivism is expected, driven by socio-cultural and macro-economic agendas such as eco-hacktivism. It added that this diversification of motives may contribute to a more complex and challenging threat landscape.
According to it, there will be the use of “offensive cybersecurity” for gathering cyber threat intelligence to have controversial consequences. It said while it may improve corporate security by providing early signs of potential compromises, the thin line between the grey zone and the shadows may be breached.
“Profit-driven cyber activities, armed with commercial and open-source tools, could operate more discreetly, making detection and investigation challenging,” it stated.
According to it, there are shifts in threats related to logistics and transport connected to automation and digitisation challenges.Kaspersky said the rapid automation and digitisation of logistics and transport are introducing new challenges, intertwining cyber and traditional crimes. This includes theft of vehicles and goods, maritime piracy, and smuggling. Non-targeted cyberattacks may lead to physical consequences, especially in rivers, sea, truck and special-purpose vehicles.
Head of Kaspersky ICS CERT, Evgeny Goncharov, said: “The industrial sector’s cybersecurity is continuously going through significant changes, with both new types of attacks and more sophisticated versions of old ones. Ransomware attacks are still a big problem, and hackers are getting better at targeting large, profitable companies with more advanced methods. Hacktivists who are motivated by social issues are also becoming more active, adding another layer of complexity to the threats. The transportation and logistics industries are especially vulnerable to these changes because its systems are becoming more and more digital. This combination of cyber and traditional crime is a serious threat to global supply chains. To protect themselves, organisations need to prioritise cybersecurity and keep improving their defenses.
