Cyber Attack Trends – Mid Year Review

Africa is a continent that is experiencing a digital boom. It is growing quickly in terms of population, the economy, and global influence. Today, Africa is home to 1.21 billion people, with a median age of just 19.5 years, the youngest population in the world.

With this prominence of youth comes a diverse population that is looking for productive employment, social engagement, free expression, and increased global connectivity. While the downturn in world commodity prices through COVID has hit African economies hard, nearly every African nation is poised to grow over the coming years.

With growing digitisation comes new risks and vulnerabilities that could undermine progress. Chief among these risks is the global rise of cybercrime. As the African Continent’s economy moves online, citizens, their computer systems, and the Continent’s information technology (IT) infrastructure become enticing targets for an increasingly professional assortment of cybercriminals.

Checkpoint Software Technologies and Data Group, in collaboration with CIO Africa, hosted the Cyber Attack Trends- Mid Year Review. It was brought out clearly, how today’s cyber attackers are smarter and more sophisticated than ever before. So, how is it possible to combat evolving cyber attackers? Through security architecture that follows a multi-layered approach to cyber security, protecting all IT attack surfaces – networks, cloud, endpoints, mobile, and IoT devices – sharing the same threat prevention technologies.

With a young population that is rapidly adopting new technologies, Africa is on the verge of total digitisation. To keep pace, initiatives by African Nations should seek to combat cybercrime and improve their overall cybersecurity posture.