Security
Implementing Security Best Practices to Maintain Integrity at the Edge
Industry 4.0, IIoT, and smart manufacturing are all buzzwords that we’ve been talking about for years. Many of us have had visions of factory floors run by futuristic robots and drones reminiscent of SciFi movies like iRobot. Well, it seems that life is indeed starting to imitate art; a 2021 McKinsey & Company survey concluded that many global manufacturing companies were able to keep their operations running during the pandemic, thanks to Industry 4.0. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents indicated that technology played a fundamental role in staying operational. Moreover, according to recent studies, the COVID-19 pandemic has vaulted us five years forward in digital business adoption. More and more manufacturers are considering actively adopting “lights out” factories and s...
3 Ways to Optimise Cloud Security Beyond What is in Place
Modernising business infrastructure by migrating to the cloud has become one of the most significant organisational priorities today. Unfortunately, as companies across industry sectors make the shift from on-premises to this dynamic new environment, so too has there been a tremendous increase in cyber threats and attacks. Contrary to the widely held belief, cloud computing is not the panacea for security many make it out to be. The most effective cyber attackers target the weakest points in any company’s digital defences. In fact, there has been a 50% surge in more sophisticated cyberattacks over the past year. This can at least partly be attributed to the rate at which new cloud deployments are taking place which makes it difficult for business and technology leaders to keep up and ensur...
LinkedIn: Are There Cyber-Risks Lurking Beneath the Surface?
In February 2021, the data from 500 million LinkedIn users was leaked by hackers, in June 2021, more than 700 million LinkedIn users had their data leaked and put up for sale. In June 2022, the FBI said that the fraud on LinkedIn posed a significant threat to the platform and its users. The site has become one of the riskiest social media platforms to date, according to South Africa-based cybersecurity firm Nclose. It allows for users to reveal deeply personal and relevant business information without authorisation; it allows for fraudsters to impersonate employees, and gain trust and access to information which can potentially put a company’s reputation on the line if an employee posts libellous or unpleasant content. “By now, most people recognise that social media isn’t the place to put...
Sophos Webinar: Navigating the Cybersecurity Triple Threat
As we move into 2022, ransomware shows no signs of slowing down – that’s no surprise. What we have seen in the past 18 months, however, is a shift in tactics: targets have shifted to ever-larger organizations, and the business model that dictates how ransomware attacks occur has evolved. It’s up to IT professionals to proactively deal with these trends to meet the challenges already on the horizon and beyond. Sophos and IT News Africa have collaborated to host a free webinar on 29 June 2022 to discuss the varied methods cyber attackers use to penetrate the networks of an entire organization. The webinar will review how Sophos’ EDR and MTR can help organizations detect these invasions before they escalate and, ultimately, eliminate the threat. It will also look at threat response, and why i...
How a Career in Cybersecurity Can Secure Your Future
Nash Lewis. According to a salary and hiring report by the professional recruitment group, Michael Page, cybersecurity is one of the top in-demand technology jobs in South Africa. Cybersecurity is an issue of critical importance and companies are prioritising hiring talent with the expertise of putting safeguarding measures in place. In response to this, the Banking Sector Education and Training Authority has developed new occupational qualifications to address the growing need for formal qualifications related to cybersecurity in South Africa. Interest in cybersecurity understandably follows increased demand for advanced technology by customers, especially within the fintech sector. With more customers conducting online transactions, the risk for potential cyber-attacks has rapidly increa...
Update Your Security Strategy Based on Key Information Learned About Threat Actors, Advises Netskope
The reality of the cyber threats posed today is that many threat actors are not rogue operators acting on their own but are, instead, working as part of sophisticated and organised groups, collaborating with other groups within a wider ecosystem of specialists. These groups build significant financial resources over time, derived from the proceeds of commercially-driven attacks, or gathered as payment from states sponsoring or directly commissioning their activities. This is according to Yaroslav Rosomakho, Field CTO of Netskope, a global cybersecurity leader which is redefining cloud, data, and network security to help organisations apply Zero Trust principles to protect data. He explains: “Threat actors use these resources to improve their subsequent attacks, paying for infrastructure or...
3 Tips to Improve User Experience & Security of African Apps
Entersekt’s Tochukwu Iwuora. Financial institutions are increasingly relying on apps and their turbo-charged cousins, super apps, for much-needed revenue growth. Organisations that can offer a secure, low-friction app experience are more likely to migrate existing customers to digital channels, attract new customers, and lower operational costs, giving them a much-needed competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive market. Africa is one of the fastest-growing app markets in the world, with Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa showing particularly high growth since the Covid pandemic. With rapid urbanisation, a big improvement in connectivity as well as the fact that smartphone connections in Africa are expected to double by 2025, reaching 678 million, it is reasonable to expect t...
Kaspersky Scoops Award for Best VPN Security
Image sourced from Pixabay. Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection was awarded among the best VPNs for streaming, gaming and torrenting for private users by AV-TEST, the independent IT security institute. Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection was praised for its speed ratings and beat leading global competitors in VPN transparency ratings. Virtual private networks (VPNs) have multiple uses including anonymous surfing, secure downloads, messaging, as well as providing access to local content on streaming platforms. They’ve also become a necessary feature for gamers, allowing them to tune their ping when gaming and providing uninterrupted gameplay. This is an important aspect of VPNs as the gaming industry is rapidly growing with a current value of over $300 billion and a continuously expa...
Ransomware Attacks: 4 Steps to Protect Your Data
Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and the pay-out for a successful breach is growing as data becomes more and more valuable. The potential of falling victim to ransomware is escalating, and such an occurrence could end up costing billions in downtime and recovery. As we become more firmly entrenched in the cloud, it is imperative to evaluate not only the measures that have been put into place to prevent an attack but also the tools and protocols that have been implemented to help a business recover. Given the current economic climate and threat landscape, a successful ransomware attack is a strong possibility – is your backup strategy in a position to help or hinder the recovery? A proactive strategy for data One thing that has become clear is that businesses need a strategy, and a less ...
Ransomware Attacks: 4 Steps to Protect Your Data
Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and the pay-out for a successful breach is growing as data becomes more and more valuable. The potential of falling victim to ransomware is escalating, and such an occurrence could end up costing billions in downtime and recovery. As we become more firmly entrenched in the cloud, it is imperative to evaluate not only the measures that have been put into place to prevent an attack but also the tools and protocols that have been implemented to help a business recover. Given the current economic climate and threat landscape, a successful ransomware attack is a strong possibility – is your backup strategy in a position to help or hinder the recovery? A proactive strategy for data One thing that has become clear is that businesses need a strategy, and a less ...
Are Phishing Attacks Targeting Crypto on the Rise?
Image sourced from Shutterstock. Experts at Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky have taken a close look at the phishing pages aimed at potential crypto investors as well as the malicious files that are distributed under the names of the 20 most popular cryptocurrency wallets. Since the beginning of 2022, Kaspersky products detected and prevented almost 200,000 attempts to steal users’ digital currencies and credentials to their wallets via phishing, according to the company. The number of such attempts almost reached 50,000 in April, which is half of the indicators for the first quarter of 2022. Crypto wallets are the primary target for scamming and malicious activity. With the boom in digital currencies observed over the past five years, Kaspersky has seen various new cybercriminal ta...
