Several Iranian news websites were hacked to display political messages, while BadeSaba, a religious calendar application with more than five million downloads, was compromised to show messages urging security forces to lay down their weapons.

Internet connectivity across Iran dropped sharply at multiple intervals on Saturday, according to Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at Kentik, who cited network data in posts on X.

Cybersecurity experts said the attacks may be part of broader efforts to disrupt Iranian communications and government systems. The Jerusalem Post reported that operations targeted government services and military infrastructure, though Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims.

Rafe Pilling of Sophos said Iranian-aligned proxy groups and hacktivists could retaliate with cyberattacks targeting Israeli and U.S.-affiliated interests, potentially including distributed denial-of-service attacks or attempts to exploit older data breaches.

Although Iran is frequently cited by U.S. officials as a cyber threat alongside Russia and China, previous responses to attacks on its territory have been relatively limited.

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The figure represents a 12 percent year-on-year increase and a rise from 4,622 weekly attacks recorded in December 2025, underscoring mounting cyber pressure on Africa’s largest economy.

According to the report, Nigeria led the continent in attack volume among the four African countries surveyed and significantly exceeded the continental average of 2,864 attacks per organisation per week.

Globally, organisations faced an average of 2,090 cyber-attacks per week in January, a 3 percent increase from December and a 17 percent rise year-on-year.

Within Africa, Angola ranked second behind Nigeria with 4,512 attacks per organisation per week, although this marked a 7 percent year-on-year decline. Kenya recorded 2,172 weekly attacks, down 41 percent, while South Africa saw 2,145 weekly attacks, representing a 36 percent increase from the same period last year.

The report noted that Government, Financial Services, and Consumer Goods and Services were the most targeted sectors across Africa.

Ian van Rensburg, Head of Security Engineering for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, said the data reflects growing scale and sophistication in cyber threats.

“January’s data shows that cyber-attacks are not only increasing but becoming more refined and opportunistic,” he said, urging organisations undergoing digital transformation to strengthen cybersecurity frameworks.

The report also flagged rising risks linked to Generative AI adoption. It found that one in every 30 GenAI prompts submitted from corporate networks in January posed a significant risk of exposing sensitive data, affecting 93 percent of organisations using such tools.

Prompts frequently included internal documents, customer information, personal identifiers and proprietary source code. On average, organisations used 10 different GenAI tools monthly, often outside formal governance structures, increasing the likelihood of data leaks and AI-enabled attacks.

Globally, the Education sector remained the most targeted industry, facing an average of 4,364 weekly attacks per organisation, followed by Government and Telecommunications.

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The report shows that firms in Nigeria face an average of 4,200 attacks per week, far above the continental average of 3,153 and 60 per cent higher than the global average of 1,963. The data points to a rising wave of cyber threats across the continent, fuelled by artificial intelligence-driven attack methods.

Check Point’s Country Manager for West Africa, Kingsley Oseghale, said threat actors are increasingly turning to AI to automate large-scale phishing, identity theft, and cloud exploitation. He explained that cybercriminals are leveraging exposed identities and misconfigured systems, targeting sectors such as finance, energy, telecommunications, and government. The report also links the rise in identity-led intrusions, AI-generated phishing and multi-vector ransomware to expanding digital footprints across African economies.

Across different markets, the study highlights distinct threat patterns: Nigeria is dealing with business email compromise and intensified cloud exploitation; South Africa is reporting increased ransomware, smishing attacks, and botnet infections like Vo1d and XorDDoS; Kenya has faced ransomware targeting critical energy infrastructure; while Morocco has recorded coordinated disruptions in government and education institutions through DDoS attacks and website defacement. These incidents form part of what the report identifies as five major shifts defining Africa’s cyber-risk landscape in 2025, including the evolution of ransomware into data-leak extortion and the growing role of identity as the primary security perimeter.

The report warns that weak cybersecurity now carries economic implications, as countries risk limitations in international markets under regulations such as the EU’s NIS2 Directive. It urges African organisations to adopt prevention-first security strategies centred on continuous risk assessment, stronger governance and regulatory preparedness. Oseghale added that as AI becomes embedded in business operations, cybersecurity strategies must evolve from reactive measures to predictive defence models.

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In a recent call to action, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has emphasized the urgent need for national cybersecurity strategies following staggering losses incurred by global banks due to cyberattacks.

According to the IMF’s April 2024 Global Financial Stability Report, released just days ago, financial institutions have suffered a collective loss of $2.5 billion over the past four years alone.

The report highlights that this figure is part of a larger trend, with a total of $12 billion lost to cyberattacks over the past two decades.

The IMF underscores the necessity for central banks and regulatory authorities to develop robust cybersecurity strategies, coupled with effective regulations and supervisory capacities to mitigate risks effectively.

One of the key recommendations outlined in the report is the periodic assessment of the cybersecurity landscape by financial institutions, with a focus on identifying potential systemic risks stemming from interconnectedness and concentrations, including those arising from third-party service providers.

Moreover, the IMF advocates for an emphasis on enhancing cyber hygiene practices within financial institutions, encompassing measures such as bolstering online security, implementing anti-malware solutions, adopting multifactor authentication, and instituting comprehensive training and awareness programs.

Recognizing the critical role of governance in cybersecurity risk mitigation, the IMF urges financial institutions to ensure board-level access to cybersecurity expertise, as enhanced governance structures have been shown to significantly reduce cyber risks.

Additionally, the report stresses the importance of robust data reporting and incident sharing mechanisms among financial sector participants to bolster collective preparedness against cyber threats.

Financial firms, which handle vast amounts of sensitive data and transactions, remain prime targets for cybercriminals aiming to steal money or disrupt economic activities.

The IMF warns that such attacks could undermine confidence in the financial system, disrupt critical services, and potentially trigger spillover effects to other institutions.

Notably, the report highlights disparities in cyber incident exposure between advanced economies, particularly the United States, and emerging markets and developing economies.

This call for action comes in the wake of alarming findings from the Financial Institutions Training Centre, revealing a significant surge in financial fraud within the Nigerian banking sector.

The report for the second quarter of 2023 recorded a staggering increase of 276.98% in fraud cases, with losses amounting to N5.79 billion, representing a rise of 1,125% compared to the preceding quarter.

As cyber threats continue to evolve in complexity and scale, the IMF’s call for immediate action underscores the imperative for concerted efforts to fortify cybersecurity frameworks and safeguard the stability of the global financial system.

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TECHDIGEST– The healthcare industry is increasingly adopting digital health services and interconnected devices, which has revolutionized patient care and operational efficiency. However, this digital transformation has also exposed healthcare systems to a mounting wave of cyberattacks.

According to GlobalData’s Q2 2023 tech sentiment poll, 70% of survey participants expect cybersecurity to disrupt the healthcare industry, with over 41% expecting a significant disruption.

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Hackers can exploit various entry points, ranging from physical medical devices in and outside of medical facilities to gaining unauthorized access to networks from nearly any connected device, medical or not. The implications of such attacks can be far-reaching, affecting patient privacy, interrupting healthcare services, and jeopardizing the safety and effectiveness of medical devices.

To address mounting cybersecurity risks, the US FDA introduced new guidelines for medical device manufacturers in March 2023. These guidelines require manufacturers to submit a plan to monitor, identify, and address post-market cybersecurity vulnerabilities when applying for new pre-market authorizations.

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TECHDIGEST – IT professionals have listed data exfiltration, theft by an external attacker, as one of the top threats that will affect organisations in 2023, according to a new report by Sophos.

The report, titled ‘The State of Cybersecurity 2023: The Business Impact of Adversaries on Defenders’, disclosed that 99 per cent of the IT professionals surveyed stated that they were concerned about affecting their organisations in 2023.

The IT experts singled out data exfiltration and phishing as their major concerns for the year.

It noted, “It’s important to remember that these three threats are often interlinked: a phishing email often starts an attack that results in data exfiltration and ransomware.”

The firm said about 94 per cent of the firm it surveyed experienced some sort of cyberattack in 2022.

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It said, “The concerns of IT professionals closely match the reality of what is happening on the front lines with 94 per cent of organisations experiencing at least one cyberattack in the last year.

“While ransomware was the most reported attack, adversaries execute a wide range of attacks at scale. This breadth and depth of attacks create a considerable and growing challenge for defenders. Behind these numbers is the increasing professionalisation of the cybercriminal economy, including the growth of the ‘as a service’ model, including ‘access-as-a-service’, ‘phishing-as-a-service’, and ‘scamming-as-a-service.’

“This evolution in cybercrime operations has lowered the barriers to entry for would-be cybercriminals.”

While there was observed growth in the sophistication of cybercriminals, surveyed IT professionals revealed that the in-house shortage of cybersecurity skills/expertise will be a major threat in 2023.

The study revealed that most surveyed organisations struggled with the day-to-day delivery of core security operations tasks.

The Field CTO, commercial, Sophos, John Shier, added, “Today’s threats require a timely and coordinated response.

“Unfortunately, too many organisations are stuck in reactive mode. Not only is this having an impact on core business priorities, but it also has a sizeable human toll, with over half of respondents stating that cyberattacks are keeping them up at night. Eliminating the guesswork and applying defensive controls based on actionable intelligence will let IT teams focus on enabling the business instead of trying to douse the eternal flame of active attacks.”

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TECHDIGEST – The Nigerian Communications Commission has stated its resolve to collaborate with other relevant security agencies to ensure that policies against cyberattacks and threats to businesses are more effective.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this at the 10th edition of Business 360 Clinics organised by Abuja Enterprises Agency.

Danbatta, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Digital Economy, NCC, Paul Okeke, said, “As a regulator of telecommunication, the commission is in active collaboration with other agencies in the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, as well as with other public sector institutions such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and Office of the National Security Adviser to ensure that policies become effective in curtailing cyber-attacks and threats on businesses.”

During a panel session titled “Technology Adoption: A must for MSMEs Sustainability and Competitiveness (Challenges and Ease of Use)”, Okeke stated that the NCC had partnered with various organisations including the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, which birthed initiatives such as the Digital Economy Academy, where business owners learn about security risks and online threats in a 12-course programme for three months.

Speaking on the theme of the event, “Technology Utilisation and Innovation: Effects on SME Profitability and Productivity”, the NCC boss also committed to continually driving initiatives that accelerate broadband deployment to increase penetration and make internet connection available to telecom consumers.

Cyberattacks have grown tremendously in Nigeria with the NCC constantly releasing advisories through its Computer Security Incident Response Team.

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According to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, the increase in cyberattacks was threatening the growth of the continent’s digital economy.

Quoting a recently published ‘Africa Cybersecurity Report,’ he disclosed that cyber-attacks in Africa increased by 300 per cent in 2022.

Punching.com

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TECHDIGEST – The world is becoming more concerned about the rate at which individuals, organisations and governments lose financial resources, intellectual property and personal identities to cybercriminals. The cost of cybercrime to the global economy will exceed any potential social and economic losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Economic Forum.

According to Kaspersky, Nigeria experienced 1.05 million cybercrimes in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 174 per cent. Globally, Nigerians were the third-most victims of cyber attacks.

To stem the rising rate of cybercrime in the country, the National Assembly passed the Cybercrime Act in 2015. However, the legislation has not been able to address the unprecedented rate of cyber attacks in the country.

The rapid acceptance of digitalization across industries and enterprises brought about by the development of cutting-edge technology. Data has become increasingly valuable. The ever-increasing amount of private and sensitive information that is stored and transferred online makes it absolutely necessary to take precautions to safeguard your data from potential security breaches.

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CISCO once predicted that the number of networked devices on earth will triple the number of humans by 2023, which will result in 60 per cent of all digital frauds occurring on mobile devices.

Hackers now have more avenues to breach people’s data due to the widespread usage of technology in daily life.

Notwithstanding the protections that organisations have put into place to protect their data, millions of people, individuals and businesses are still at risk of having their data compromised as a result of poor password practises, human error and other circumstances.

These are 5 frequent reasons for data breaches to help you understand how they occur.

Loss of device – Cybercriminals are quite calculative in their actions and can even take things like laptops, phones, storage devices, etc. from the unwary. Unencrypted data on stolen devices is easily accessible to thieves once they have access to them.

Human error – Humans are prone to making mistakes. A massive data breach might result from sending the wrong person a document, an email or a file. Human error has resulted in significant losses for businesses and people that have taken years to recover from.

Phishing – Phishing is one of the many methods hackers steal sensitive data. Phishing is a form of social engineering in which unknowing victims are tricked into doing a task that appears to be in their best interest by fraudulent emails or websites. Once these links are visited, hackers gain access to crucial data and can launch an attack.

Weak passwords – It is a normal habit for people to want to use the same password for various platforms; however, this is a horrible idea and one of the simplest ways for data breaches to occur. People also employ passwords that are easily guessed by hackers.

Spyware – Spyware is a type of malware created by cybercriminals with the express purpose of stealing data from victims without their knowledge or permission. Unknowingly, spyware can be downloaded from the internet and serve as a go-between for the hacker and the victim’s computer.

How to safeguard your data safe

To prevent a breach of data privacy, a comprehensive approach strategy that includes everyone who interacts with a system is essential. Every employee, every home gadget that interacts with a system, and every data breach can happen anywhere within a corporation.

Below are some best practices to tighten security and keep your data protected:

Use strong passwords

We have previously discussed how insecure passwords might allow hackers to access sensitive data. Using strong passwords with a variety of characters is crucial to developing good password habits. It is against best practices to protect your data to use the same password across many devices or platforms.

Two-factor authentication

When two-factor authentication is enabled for login screens, fraudsters must overcome an additional barrier to entry. Two-factor authentication may be turned on for most applications and major platforms, which greatly reduces the risk of a data breach.

Regular software updates

Patches and upgrades to software are crucial. Companies and developers regularly issue updates to their software to address security issues and close potential vulnerabilities. Both individuals and businesses should update their systems as quickly as possible to the newest versions.

Educate employees

Employees should be made aware of the dangers of social engineering attacks and how to protect themselves from them at all times. Organising training with the IT department can display examples of dubious emails or links to protect staff from becoming victims.

Back up data

Make regular backups of your data. Having a current backup of your data can help you retrieve your information and get back up and running fast in the event that your device is lost, stolen, or infected with malware. You should routinely make copies of your data and keep those copies in a safe place (such an external hard drive or cloud storage service) to avoid the risk of data loss or theft.

Data encryption

If devices are correctly encrypted, hackers would not be able to access the data even if they are stolen. Encrypting private data is crucial.

Use security software

Install a reliable firewall and anti-virus programme. Malware, viruses, and other security risks can be thwarted with the aid of antivirus and firewall software. Choose antivirus and firewall programmes with high ratings and user satisfaction and keep them up to date for maximum security.

After going through everything there is to know about data security and breaches, it is important you take deliberate steps to protect your data. The data of a company or an individual may cause great harm if it falls into the wrong hands. Around 110 organisations in Nigeria are under investigation for alleged data breaches, according to the Nigeria Data Protection Bureau.

You can keep your personal and sensitive information safe by adhering to these simple practices and helping to protect your data from security risks. Taking these precautions can considerably lower your risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime, even if no security measures are 100 per cent effective.

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TECH DIGEST– January to September 2022, computers in the industrial control systems (ICS) environment were attacked using multiple means. In the META region, malicious objects were blocked on 38% of ICS computers in the region that were protected by Kaspersky solutions, according to Kaspersky ICS CERT statistics. Globally the share of ICS computers with blocked malicious objects stands at 31,8%. APT attacks on industrial systems are expected to get even more sophisticated in the coming months.

ICS computers are used in oil & gas, energy, automotive manufacturing, building automation infrastructures and other spheres to perform a range of OT functions – from the workstations of engineers and operators to supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) servers and Human Machine Interface (HMI).

Cyberattacks on industrial computers are considered to be extremely dangerous as they may cause material losses and production downtime for the controlled production line and even the facility as a whole. Moreover, industrial enterprises put out of service can seriously undermine a region’s social welfare, ecology and macroeconomics.

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During the three quarters of 2022 in the META region ICS computers in the oil and gas sector faced attacks most often (39,3% of them got attacked). Attacks on building automation systems were in second place – 38,8% of ICS computers in this sector were targeted. The energy sector was also among the top-3 environments that got attacked (36,8% of computers there were affected).

In total in January-September 2022 various types of malicious objects were blocked on 38% of ICS computers in the META region. Of these, most attacks on ICS infrastructure came from the Internet (28,2%). 9,9% of attacks were made through email clients. 7,0% of attacks were conducted through removable media, 0,9% – through network folders.

In Nigeria, various types of malicious objects were blocked on 38.7% of ICS computers between January-September 2022. Of these, 19.4% came from the Internet and 3.5% of attacks were made through email clients. 10.7% of attacks were conducted through removable media.

APT attacks on industrial systems are expected to get even more sophisticated in the coming months. The targets will be organizations in agriculture, logistics & transportation, energy (mining, chemical, machine tool industry) sectors, as well as the sectors of renewable energy and Hi-Tech.

Another trend seen by Kaspersky for the remainder of 2022 and the next year is the rise of ransomware in ICS environments. Ransomware groups have come a long way: scattered gangs become organized businesses and form a full-fledged industry. We are seeing more cases where ransomware attacks, including those on ICS computers, are performed manually, in a time-consuming, yet efficient manner.

“The period of global instability provokes global semiconductor shortage. In turn, that causes companies to lower their budgets on cybersecurity, which becomes a critical issue in 2022-2023, especially in view of the evolving threat landscape. Critical industrial infrastructure solutions will be a new target for cybercrime,” says Vladimir Dashchenko, Kaspersky Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team expert.

Read more about the ICS threat landscape on the Kaspersky ICS CERT website.

To keep your OT computers protected from various threats, Kaspersky experts recommend:

• Conducting regular security assessments of OT systems to identify and eliminate possible cyber security issues.
• Establishing continuous vulnerability assessment and triage as a base for effective vulnerability management process. Dedicated solutions like Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity may become an efficient assistant and a source of unique actionable information, not fully available in public.
• Performing timely updates for the key components of the enterprise’s OT network; applying security fixes and patches or implementing compensating measures as soon as it is technically possible is crucial for preventing a major incident that might cost millions due to the interruption of the production process.
• Using EDR solutions such as Kaspersky Endpoint Detection and Response for timely detection of sophisticated threats, investigation, and effective remediation of incidents.
• Improving the response to new and advanced malicious techniques by building and strengthening security teams’ incident prevention, detection, and response skills. Dedicated OT security trainings for IT security teams and OT personnel is one of the key measures helping to achieve this.

SOURCE: ITEDGENEWS

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