Tag: cybersecurity

Renowned French philosopher, Paul Virilio once said; “When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck.” How inevitable is this in technology today? Security professionals are having to work hard at putting in measures, best practices, mapping systems, lighthouses and beacons in order to reap the benefits of new innovations, all while managing potentially catastrophic risks.

Cybercrime attacks are accelerating in frequency and increasing in sophistication every year for one simple reason – they are highly lucrative when successful, so the payoff is worth the effort. In 2019 we saw a number of high-profile attacks in South Africa, which made headlines for the sheer disruptiveness they created.

With data breaches hitting headlines daily, security professionals are constantly concerned about the next big threat. Whether it’s ransomware, phishing or endpoint attacks, there’s always something on the horizon waiting for its turn in the spotlight.

South African enterprise is no stranger to the phenomenon of cybercrime. In light of numerous high-profile data breaches, it is evident that digital espionage is on the rise. In fact, the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (Sabric) estimates that South Africans lose R2.2bn to internet fraud and phishing attacks annually.

With estimates that between 30,000 and 50,000 drones are currently being operated in South Africa unmanned aerial vehicles have punched a gaping hole in existing physical and IT security strategies.

The demand for cybersecurity solutions is growing rapidly, businesses around the globe are investing heavily in security. Annual global cyber losses are expected to hit US$6 trillion by 2021, with cybersecurity spending projected to exceed a total of US$1 trillion for the five years leading up to 2021.

In 2018, web miners, applications that run in a user’s browser and mine cryptocurrencies for profit, could have consumed as much as 18.8 gigawatts of electric power, according to our research on the economic and environmental impact of web mining. This makes it comparable to the power consumption rate of Poland and means the environmental impact of web mining is close to 800 tons of CO2 emissions.

Businesses are putting themselves at increased risk of losing data, by not curbing the actions of current and former employees. 25% of workers in South Africa still have access to files and documents from a previous employer, putting the integrity of data and company livelihood at risk, finds new research ‘Sorting out digital clutter in business’.

Governing bodies, and the role they play, are under the spotlight like never before. How should members of governing bodies ensure that they are covering all the bases?

For any South African organization, the best way to prepare for POPI is to implement a solid data protection strategy that guards against loss of data whether through malicious or accidental methods.