SA is the top ranked malicious code destination within Africa; also ranking first for phishing attacks; and third for spam.
This is according to the 2013 Symantec Internet Security Threat Report released yesterday in Dublin.
Globally, the report cites SA as a top target in regards to cyber attacks. In 2011, SA occupied position 37 as a spam target, in 2012 it ranked 47. In terms of global malicious code threats, in 2011 SA ranked 21 but in 2012, it ranked 30.
For phishing attacks, the report found an increase from 2011 to 2012. In 2011, SA ranked 37 and in 2012 moved up to 34. There was also a slight increase in bot attacks, with SA positioned 66 and 63 in 2011 and 2012 respectively. In terms of global network attacks, SA secured the 51 position in 2011 and in 2012 ranked 44.
In an interview with ITWeb in Dublin yesterday, Sven Hansen, Symantec's technical sales and services manager for Africa, said this year's report shows that cyber criminals are not slowing down, and they continue to devise new ways to steal information from organisations of all sizes.
"The sophistication of attacks, coupled with today's IT complexities, such as virtualisation, mobility and cloud, require organisations to remain proactive and use 'defence-in-depth' security measures to stay ahead of attacks," said Hansen.
He also pointed out that SA was witnessing more attacks than in previous years mainly because of the increase in Internet penetration and broadband accessibility that the country was also witnessing. According to Hansen, the lack of a clear cyber security strategy in SA has also exacerbated the situation for government is still to come up with a clearly defined cyber security policy framework.
The country's thriving small and medium enterprise (SME) market is also under attack, according to Hansen, adding that for cyber criminals, SMEs are a path of least resistance. He explained that targeted attacks are growing the most among businesses with fewer than 250 employees. Small businesses are now the target of 31% of all attacks, a threefold increase from 2011.
"While small businesses may feel they are immune to targeted attacks, cyber criminals are enticed by these organisations' bank account information, customer data and intellectual property. Attackers hone in on small businesses that may often lack adequate security practices and infrastructure."
The growth in mobile penetration is another reason why SA is becoming a prime target, said Hansen. Last year, mobile malware increased by 58%, and 32% of all mobile threats attempted to steal information such as e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
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