Tag: cybercrime

The President has proclaimed that, from 1 December 2021, certain sections of the Cybercrimes Act, 2020 will come into full force.

The Festive Season is a time when most South Africans, like the rest of the world, will be looking to spoil their loved ones by purchasing them gifts. Over the past few years, South Africans have been lucky enough to be able to take advantage of the discounts that are offered on Black Friday (the last Friday in November) and Cyber Monday (the Monday immediately following Black Friday).

International Fraud Awareness Week is taking place from 14-20 November, highlighting an increasing problem that organisations around the world are facing. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), businesses lose around 5% of their annual revenue globally due to fraudulent behaviour, which experts estimate amounts to a total annual loss around the world of $3.7 trillion.

The pandemic forced everyone to spend more time online than they did before. This was out of necessity because of remote working and the need to buy services and products online. A global collective of highly sophisticated networks of criminals are aware of this larger, captive online audience, and they have innovated and stepped up both the frequency and the complexity of their attacks.

Cybercrime has risen exponentially since the start of the global pandemic. While no security is full proof, crafting a security posture with multiple layers, built on the basic tenets of cybersecurity is certainly a good start. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber attacks have been on the increase on a global scale, inflicting financial losses across all sectors including manufacturing, banking, and energy, to name a few.

Investors need to consider cyber preparedness in their investment decisions. Today, 100% of companies rely on the internet to operate, compared to the one-in-four 10 years ago, according to a study from Accenture.

Our experts are increasingly observing Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks. Between May and July 2021, our products prevented more than 9,500 BEC attacks globally, including those against businesses in air transportation, industry, retail, IT, and delivery.

Data is a key asset to any business – that’s why it’s crucial that it’s protected. Data can help businesses understand vital information, such as customer buying behaviour or enable digital payments. However, in the wrong hands, it can be abused. Consider the risk that cyberattacks and data breaches pose to businesses.

The world has a serious problem that puts the digital era in harm's way. Numerous South African businesses have fallen prey to a new ransomware attack, joining many more globally.

Making your network safe from the traditional north to south perspective is no longer enough. In a digital world, micro-segmentation that secures it from east to west is also vital. In the modern era of cybercrime, ransomware and digital threat vectors, your infrastructure security is more essential than ever.