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 inaugurated the Electronic Pharmacy Regulation Platform (E-Pharmacy) to enhance the safety of online healthcare services.
Pic credit….healthreporters.info
The platform, championed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), is designed to regulate digital pharmaceutical services and improve public health outcomes.
Inaugurating the platform, Prof. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, said the initiative signified Nigeria’s commitment to building a world-class regulatory environment.
Pate noted that pharmacy regulation had faced significant challenges for over three decades but expressed optimism that the new platform would strengthen oversight and accountability.
He said the initiative would enable evidence-based monitoring of pharmaceutical practices while supporting innovation and investment in the health sector.
“This launch is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing technology in the service of health, safety and human dignity.
“It is a decisive step to ensure that pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria aligns with national and global health priorities, reflecting the realities of the 21st century.
“It enables the country to adopt evidence-based approaches to monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” he said.
The minister added that the platform would help establish a safe, accessible and well-regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem driven by digital technology.
Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed, registrar/chief executive officer of PCN, said the need to regulate online pharmacy operations became more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital tools and e-commerce in healthcare, exposing longstanding inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.
“This has led to the increasing adoption of digitised distribution of essential medicines through cost-effective and technology-enabled models.
“For decades, PCN has regulated pharmacy education, training, practice and business in Nigeria. However, as the world shifts towards digital solutions, access to medicines has evolved.
“The Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 provide a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.
He added that the framework would ensure that ethical standards and patient safety are not compromised in the delivery of online pharmaceutical services.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO, Flutterwave, has announced plans to establish Anambra State as the company’s hub for Nigeria’s South East, leveraging a fresh banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost local fintech and businesses.
Flutterwave
Agboola made the disclosure yesterday in Awka during a meeting with Anambra tech community leaders, hosted alongside Dr. Stanley Uzochukwu, CEO, Stanel Group and proprietor, Delborough Hotel.
He highlighted Flutterwave’s status as Africa’s leading payment system, born in Nigeria, with infrastructure powering companies nationwide.
“We want Anambra to be our hub for the entire South East,” Agboola said. “We’ll deploy our systems, fees, infrastructure, and POS terminals to every small business and large firm here, making our services the top consumer choice.”
Agboola pledged a massive impact program for Anambra entrepreneurs to foster global platforms from the state, enabled by the new license for faster growth.
For a decade, Flutterwave has facilitated payments, but now aims to empower South East businesses through partnerships, POS access, loans, and value for SMEs.
“We’re partnering on a huge impact program launching soon—impacting the tech community with technology, financing, and lending to create more millionaires from this city,” he added.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), in collaboration with the Africa Carbon Management Technology & Innovation (ACMTI) and the Clean Energy Ministerial Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage Initiative (CEM-CCUS), has launched a Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Initiative Platform in Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Prof. Innocent Barikor, the Director-General of NESREA, described the project as a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and industrial transformation.
Barikor explained that the CCUS solution provides an economically viable pathway for industrial decarbonisation by enabling the capture, storage, and utilisation of carbon in sectors such as beverage production, cement manufacturing, chemicals and fuels, enhanced oil recovery, and agriculture.
“We need to reduce carbon in the atmosphere to acceptable levels. Its utilisation offers opportunities to capture and store carbon and deploy it for industrial purposes. We are building a circular economy—turning environmental challenges into economic opportunities in line with regulatory provisions,” he said.
He noted that the CCUS Platform is a collaborative ecosystem designed to bring together key stakeholders, including government institutions, industry leaders, academia, technology developers, development partners, and investors.
Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NESREA for the initiative, describing it as a practical mechanism for coordination, innovation, and action toward Nigeria’s 2035 climate targets and broader energy transition goals.
He added that the university is well-positioned to host the CCUS initiative, noting that its Energy Technology Institute has developed credible expertise in energy transition-related fields critical to the success of CCUS in Nigeria.
On his part, the Coordinator of ACMTI and Facilitator of the Carbon Technology Innovation Platform (CTIP), Dr. Richard Victor Osu, said the vision is to position Nigeria as a regional leader in carbon management technologies while contributing meaningfully to Africa’s climate commitments and global decarbonisation efforts.
Osu explained that Port Harcourt was selected due to its potential as a CCUS hub, adding that the platform will focus on advancing research and innovation, building technical capacity, promoting public-private partnerships, attracting investment, and fostering collaboration with international research and technology partners.
Juho Lipponen of the CEM-CCUS Initiative assured that the organisation would support Nigeria in prioritising CCUS in clean energy discussions, strengthening carbon management deployment programmes, boosting partnerships, facilitating financing solutions, and promoting positive narratives around carbon utilisation.
The event attracted participants from the United States, France, Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, who shared insights on the initiative.
Also in attendance were representatives of the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC), the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Rivers State Ministry of Environment, as well as private sector stakeholders and development partners.
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