Cyberattacks in the financial industry are shifting away from targeting individual customers toward targeting corporations.
According to Kaspersky Security Network, phishing attempts in African countries have increased significantly from the first to the second quarter of 2022. Online retailers, payment systems, and financial institutions were attacked.
Phishing is a deceitful method of collecting information, and one that is gaining popularity in the region is known as “financial phishing.” Phishing is a type of online fraud in which the fraudster sends bogus warnings from banks, e-pay systems, and other organisations in an effort to deceive customers into disclosing their financial information. Phishing is also known as spear phishing.
The con artist sends alerts that can be associated with the theft of passwords, credit card numbers, bank account details, and other sensitive information. These alerts can be sent out if data is lost, credentials need to be updated, or the system breaks down.
Kenyan organisations suffer various phishing attacks
According to the data provided by Kaspersky, 100,192 financial phishing attacks were directed at organizations in Kenya during the second quarter of 2022. This represents a 201% increase compared to the first quarter.
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E-commerce websites accounted for 58 per cent of all attacks, followed by banking websites (21%), and payment system websites (21%). Nigerian authorities discovered 61,344 financial phishing attempts directed at organizations during the same period, which represents a 79% increase from the first quarter. In 52% of cases, e-commerce websites were attacked. Banks were attacked 6% of the time, while payment systems were attacked 42% of the time.
It’s hard for us to imagine life before the internet, to the point where our entire financial life is now conducted online. This is the power that comes with digitisation. On the other hand, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are facing an unparalleled onslaught of difficulties. One of these difficulties is the expansion of financial threats, which are getting better at manipulating human behaviour and will only worsen in the future. Emad Haffar, Head of Technical Experts at Kaspersky, says that businesses that want to stay ahead of constantly changing cyberattacks and getting more complicated should put fraud prevention front and centre. This will help them control fraudulent transactions, lower the risk of fraudulent activity in the future, and protect their reputation.
How to avoid phishing scams or cyberattacks
Kaspersky has given the following tips to organisations to help them avoid phishing scams and other forms of online fraud:
It is essential to educate employees since they are the first line of defence against cyber attacks. Make it a learning process that never stops, and instruct them on the warning signs for which they should always be on the lookout.
In the same vein, ensure that your consumers are aware of the dos and don’ts of cybersecurity to defend themselves from becoming victims of phishing scams.
Use the Kaspersky Fraud Prevention solution to determine if a customer’s device is infected with malicious software. It does proactive malware analysis and detection in real-time.
Kaspersky Threat Intelligence is the tool that companies should rely on to boost their visibility and provide their security operations with more advanced insights. APO Group, on Kaspersky’s behalf, distributed this document.
About Kaspersky
Kaspersky is a global corporation created in 1997 specializing in cybersecurity and digital privacy. Kaspersky is continually transforming deep threat intelligence and knowledge into novel security solutions and services to safeguard consumers, enterprises, critical infrastructure, and governments worldwide. The extensive security offerings provided by the company include industry-leading endpoint protection as well as a variety of specialised security solutions and services designed to defend against more complex and pervasive online dangers. Kaspersky technologies protect over 400 million consumers, and we assist over 240,000 corporate customers in protecting what is most important to them and their business. Visit www.Kaspersky.co.za to acquire further knowledge.