Tag: cybersecurity

Increased shareholder value and better customer benefits could be generated with the adoption of seven set-piece plays, according to a new report on the digitalisation of South Africa’s banking and financial services.

Impacts vary, but in many cases, ransomware disrupts businesses for significant periods or even forces them to suspend operations or close. A growing population of highly capable cyber extortionists is developing a new means to counter defences and increase the level of disruption they can inflict constantly.

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).

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.

Traditionally, cybersecurity entailed a reactive approach where organisations used learnings from previous compromises to improve their defences. With technology evolving and people embracing the likes of mobile wallets, banking apps, and other solutions to manage transactions, businesses must rethink how best to bolster anti-fraud mechanisms. The answer lies in artificial intelligence (AI).

Multi-vector attacks, phishing, BEC, insider threats, and brand impersonation require a pervasive security strategy. It involves a combination of proactive defence to stop threats even before they’re deployed, blocking threats from email and the web, and remediating internal incidents to return to business as usual as quickly as possible.

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.

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.

Public cloud has taken centre stage in the global IT space, thanks in large part to the pandemic forcing accelerated adoption of next-generation technology solutions. According to Forrester Research, the global public cloud infrastructure market will grow 35% to 120 billion USD in 2021, as several new trends emerge around cloud technology.