E-Business
Ransomware Attacks in Nigeria Increased by 7Per Cent in H1 2023 Compared to H1 2022
Ransomware remains one of the main threats to information security globally and in the META region. In 2022, the average cost of a ransomware attack was US$4.54 million (according to IBM’s data breach report), and Kaspersky solutions detected over 74.2M attempted ransomware attacks (20% increase to 2021).
While the beginning of 2023 saw a decline in the number of ransomware attacks, in Q2 some regions saw an upward trend and even when compared to the same period in 2022.
According to Kaspersky Security Network data, in H1 2023 Nigeria saw a 7% increase in ransomware attack attempts on individual and corporate users compared to H1 2022. All these attempts were blocked by Kaspersky solutions.
While ransomware numbers may fluctuate by season and region, it cannot be overstated that ransomware is becoming more sophisticated and targeted. Ransomware attackers target all types of organisations, from healthcare and educational institutions to service providers and industrial enterprises.
At the beginning of 2023 LockBit, one of the world’s most prolific ransomware groups, remained in the first place among the top five most influential and prolific ransomware groups. REvil and Conti were replaced by Vice Society and BlackCat. The remaining ransomware groups that formed the top five at the beginning of 2023 were Clop and Royal.
“Ransomware groups around the world continue to improve their techniques. They are driven by three main factors. First, it is the chances of getting caught when attacking a certain organisation. The second factor is the size of ransom they can potentially receive.
“Finally, they always estimate the technical difficulty of the attack. If any one of these parameters goes out of line with the plans of the attackers, they reconsider,” comments Dmitry Galov, Head of Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), Russia.
“Installing effective security solutions will likely draw ransomware groups away from an rganization. It is a necessary investment, as ransomware attacks can result in disastrous consequences such as permanent loss of information, disruption of business processes, loss of time, harm to reputation, and huge financial losses.”
Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business, Kaspersky Small Office Security and Kaspersky Internet Security have demonstrated 100% effectiveness against ransomware attacks in Advanced Threat Protection Test assessments by AV-TEST. In 10 different full-chain attacks, the products did not lose a single user file.
To combat ransomware and assist those affected, the National High Tech Crime Unit of the Dutch National Police, Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre, Kaspersky, and other partners jointly launched the No More Ransom initiative in 2016.
On the official website, participants provide decryption tools, guidelines, and instructions to report cybercrimes, irrespective of the location of the incident.
These invaluable resources have helped victims of 173 ransomware families retrieve their data without making any payments.
Additionally, the initiative aims to raise awareness about ransomware and preventive measures to avoid infections. As a founding member of No More Ransom, Kaspersky has been a key contributor since the initiative’s inception.
Transcorp Hotels Plc has delivered a stellar performance in the first half of 2025, recording a 60% year-on-year surge in revenue to ₦47.57 billion, up from ₦29.72 billion in H1 2024. Gross profit climbed 71% to ₦36.21 billion, maintaining a strong 76% margin despite inflation and operational headwinds.
The hospitality giant, a subsidiary of Transnational Corporation Plc, also announced an interim dividend payout of ₦1.024 billion — offering ₦0.10 per 50 kobo ordinary share to shareholders.
In a bold move, the company unveiled Nigeria’s largest corporate venue — the 5,000-seat Transcorp Centre — staking its claim as the new leader in event hospitality. Chairman Emmanuel Nnorom described the results as proof of Transcorp Hotels’ transformative strategies and unwavering investor commitment. MD/CEO Uzo Oshogwe attributed the success to relentless execution and a resilient business model.
Transcorp Hotels, renowned for iconic assets like Transcorp Hilton Abuja and its digital platform Aura, says it isn’t just leading Nigeria’s hospitality sector — it’s redefining excellence across Africa.
Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
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