Cyber security attack

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – KENYA has emerged as the country worst hit by web threats in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) regions.

Nigeria, Oman, Egypt and Lebanon are also under threat while other hand, South Africa had among the lowest number of affected users in the region.

This is according to findings by Kaspersky Lab, which have been revealed at its Cyber Security Weekend in Istanbul, Turkey.

During the event, statistics from the Kaspersky Security Network for the first quarter of 2018 were revealed and showed an overall increase in local threats infections (malware spread in local networks, by USBs, CDs, DVDs).

Kenya took first place with 61,8 percent of its users infected, followed by 58,6 percent in Nigeria, 50,8 percent in Oman, and 55,6 percent in both Egypt and Lebanon.

Turkey reported the lowest number of local threat infections with 46,2 percent.

Threats are also low in South Africa with 48,8 percent for local and 19,6 percent for web threats.

Overall, Kaspersky noted an increase of 8,5 percent in ransomware attacks in the META region in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period last year.

“We do expect such attacks to grow and evolve in complexity and sophistication,” said Mohamad Amin Hasbini, Senior Security Researcher, Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab.

Hasbini said this highlighted the importance of proper security solutions backed with continuous security training to raise awareness on the dangers of such attacks.

At the annual Cyber Security Weekend, experts discussed various topics, including internet of things (IoT) security, blockchain technology and the rise of targeted attacks as well as threats aimed at medical infrastructure.
– CAJ News