Press Releases

According to the latest Kaspersky study, 46% of geo-distributed businesses surveyed in South Africa identified a disparity between the levels of cyber protection across all sites: 30% of these companies admitted this problem but didn't think it was critical, the remaining 16% stated their branches required much more cybersecurity measures to be implemented. However, Kaspersky’s experts are warning multi-site businesses that such a disparity can endanger the whole organisation.

Researchers at Kaspersky keep a close eye on Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and are observing 9 active threat actors that currently target organisations in Africa. Whilst these threat actors target a wide range of entities, Kaspersky researchers identified Government, Energy and Telecommunications as the top targets in Africa.

Kaspersky is announcing the release of its upgraded iOS and Android mobile apps, with updates focusing on security, privacy and improved usability. Among new features available in the iOS app are the Security Scan button, Private Browsing option and a Siri-shortcut feature, that effortlessly turns on the VPN.

More than three quarters (85%) of geo-distributed companies in the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region using container development methods experienced cybersecurity incidents in the last 12-months, according to the latest Kaspersky study. These organisations, who used containers and/ or Kubernetes, faced a wide range of cyber incidents with results including confidential data leaks (38%), financial losses (28%), and decreased customer trust (38%).

Public Wi-Fi is quite popular at cafés, airports, or abroad during vacations or business trips. Despite the convenience and perceived necessity of staying connected, these common situations require vigilance to ensure the safety and protection of personal data. To navigate potential risks safely, Kaspersky experts have crafted a set of safe practices for using unrestricted networks.

59% of geo-distributed businesses globally and 60% in South Africa experienced network problems related to their multi-site structure at least once a month, shows a Kaspersky survey of Network and Information Security decision makers from 20 countries worldwide. Among the most common challenges named were network outages, lost connections and poor performance of services and applications.

With more than 184 million people across Africa having embraced mobile money according to a GSMA report, and with Discovery Bank and Visa research showing an increasing popularity of contactless payments and digital wallets in South Africa, these solutions have become essential to help drive financial inclusion. In fact, SOLmate, a leading digital wallet provider in South Africa, has seen strong demand for its digital wallet offering locally, where it has enabled over 2 million transactions since inception with 1 million of those in the last 6 months alone. However, such money flows attract cybercriminals. According to Kaspersky’s statistics the number of mobile banking malware attacks globally grew by 32% in 2023. Kaspersky and SOLmate experts give advice on security aspects that should be kept in mind to have safe experiences while making digital transactions.

Cybercriminals aren’t ignoring Linux-based devices, which becomes evident when looking at some of the recent examples of malware targeting this operating system: a Linux implant for the DinodasRAT malware — also known as XDealer; or a backdoor in the Trojanised version of Free Download Manager. To help Linux users stay protected from developing cyberthreats, Kaspersky has released a dedicated free product that allows users to check Linux computers for current threats — Kaspersky Virus Removal Tool for Linux.

Observing Youth Day on the 16th of June serves as a keen reminder of the importance of encompassing development of our youth and an advent of this is also teaching children about online safety. This is especially important given how Kaspersky research has found (based on certain key words used) that the number of cyberattack attempts targeting children grew by 35% (1.3 million attempts) in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period of the last year.

Recently, there have been a number of news items about data leaks, such as those from Santander and Ticketmaster. In fact, data leaks are a constant issue, affecting a range of industries from banking to logistics companies, online stores, entertainment, and more. Companies usually try to protect affected clients, but individuals can also take steps on their side to improve digital security. Kaspersky experts give advice on what to do if your personal data was leaked.