Nigeria moved nine places from 59 in 2012 to 68 position in the 2013 global listing of Internet security threat report by Symantec, but the US global computer security software company is warning that new threats have risen with 58 per cent increase on android devices.
In the new listing, Nigeria is also 6th behind South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Mauritius. Listings are based on the stronger cyber threats to weaker nation.
It means the lower you are mentioned on the ladder board, the better protected or least vulnerable you are seemed to be known.
Oseme Osabase, Symantec Corporation territory manager, (West Africa) stated at a media interactive session in Lagos Tuesday that new global threats like ‘Watering Hole’ pose greater danger to individuals, SMEs, big corporations and nations.
“Attackers no longer come to you directly, but wait for their targets at their most frequented websites and unleash their virus. This could cost an individual, corporation or nation entire data storage,” said Osabase on ‘Watering Hole.’
He also reiterated that there are now more state-sponsored cyber attacks across the globe, meaning, nations are gradually shifting from known military hardware warfare to cyber warfare.
“The last few years have seen increasingly sophisticated and widespread use of cyber attacks. In peacetime, they provide plausible deniability; in wartime, they could be an essential tool. Cyber attacks will continue to be an outlet where tensions between countries are played out. Moreover, in addition to state-sponsored attacks, non-state sponsored attacks, including attacks by nationalist activists against those whom they perceive to be acting against their country’s interest, will continue. Security companies and businesses need to be prepared for blowback and collateral damage from these attacks and, as ever, they need to make strenuous efforts to protect themselves against targeted attacks of all kinds,” said Osabase.
As precautionary measure for individuals and SMEs against data loss, Osabase said e-mails should be encrypted – “especially if they contain sensitive information you don’t want to share with third parties.”
With growing popularity and use of the social media, the Symantec team leader also noted that that platform will become a major security battleground.
“Social media websites already combine elements of an operating system, a communications platform, and an advertising network. As they go mobile and add payment mechanisms, they will attract even more attention from online criminals with malware, phishing, spam, and scams. Traditional spam, phishing, and malware will hold steady or decline somewhat; however, social media attacks will grow enormously. As new social media tools emerge and become popular, criminals will target them. Further, we think that the intersection of smartphones and social media will become an important security battleground as criminals target teenagers, young adults, and other people who may be less guarded about their personal data and insufficiently security-minded to protect their devices and avoid scams,” said Osabase.