According to research by Kaspersky, Sub-Saharan Africa saw a slight reduction in certain malware cases. However, the human cyber threat remains replete and the Africa is not immune to the evolving techniques of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs), as well as the possibilities of being a future target for groups of actors of hacking threats.
Kaspersky's research found that APT groups worldwide are evolving their techniques and are updating their toolset to continue to divert confidential information. In addition, there was an increase in hackers for hire or cyber mercenaries during the first two quarters of 2020. In fact, three groups of cyber mercenaries were exposed around the world just this year.
Hired hackers or cybernetic mercenaries are not necessarily motivated by money like traditional cybercrime. Instead, they steal private data to monetize it in a different way - often for the purpose of providing advice or insights, based on the data, to share the value of a competitive advantage.
As this activity took place outside Africa, it is suspected that these types of actors may have been somewhat overlooked and are not necessarily part of cyber defense strategies. However, the region could become a focus for these groups in the coming months, and therefore companies and entities need to have an understanding of these emerging threats, along with the APT threat, to be prepared and take proactive steps for effective cybersecurity.
In South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, APT groups are exploring the current uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 to steal confidential information. More sophisticated techniques have emerged that deliver malware in unconventional ways.
The main industries under attack in Sub-Saharan Africa in Kaspersky's research include government, education, health and military. While government and the military have convincing - and obvious - goals, education and health are often used as pivot points to access other institutions. Sometimes an entity is a victim, while other times it is the target.
