Cyber threat volumes continue to rise worldwide

by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG – AFRICA remains prone to cyberattacks, according to Check Point Research, the threat intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies.

In July, African organisations recorded 3 237 attacks per week, topped by Latin America at 3 561 weekly attacks per organisation and Asia-Pacific (APAC) at 3 316.

These figures are above the global average of 2 336 cyberattacks per week, representing a 3-percent increase month-on-month and a 16-percent increase year-on-year.

In Africa, Angola was particularly hard hit, with 5 714 weekly attacks per organisation, followed by Nigeria at 4 975, Kenya at 2 915 and South Africa at 2 195.

July’s cyber threat landscape was shaped by pressure across multiple fronts. Financial Services, Government, and Energy and Utilities continued to take a pummelling, remaining the three most attacked industries on the continent.

Global attack volumes continued to climb, ransomware activity broke from the more stable pattern seen earlier in the year, and GenAI exposure became a clearer operational risk as employees used more tools and generated more prompts across enterprises.

“July’s data shows that cyber risk is accumulating across multiple fronts at once,” Lorna Hardie, Regional Director: Africa at Check Point Research, said.

She said that as attack volumes continued to rise, ransomware had accelerated sharply, while GenAI exposure was now part of daily business activity.

“Organisations need prevention-first, AI-driven security that protects networks, users, data and AI workflows before attacks can cause an impact.”

– CAJ News