Hackers from Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa alone launched over 30,000 malware attacks on victims in just six months.
Cyber security company, Kaspersky said out of over 206,000 mobile malware attacks, it blocked over 30,000 from these countries.
It said out of the number, Nigeria alone accounted for (14,071), Kenya (10,697), and South Africa (5,499).
This revelation resulted from the total global malwares that Kaspersky solutions for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) blocked in just six months.
It said for African countries it monitored, Nigeria only comes second to Egypt (19,466).
The cyber security company said the volume of attacks shows how prevalent mobile threats have become in this highly connected country.
Specifically, Kaspersky’s latest research shows that when looking at the top ten countries by share of users attacked by mobile malware Nigeria places eighth (at 11.76 per cent).
It said even though it didn’t feature Kenya and South Africa as prominently, the mobile malware threat is still a concern.
The company said that the threat, along with the shift to more targeted based, attacks these countries are seeing.
Malware behavious:
The top three most prevalent malware behaviours that Kaspersky has seen in Kenya and Nigeria are Trojans, Trojan-Downloaders; and Trojan-Droppers.
In South Africa, these are Trojans, Trojan-Proxy; and Trojan-Downloaders.
What is Trojan:
The company said a Trojan is a type of malware that is often disguised as legitimate software which attackers can use to try and gain access to user systems.
It said, as the name suggests, Trojan-Downloaders download and install new versions of malicious programmes, including Trojans and Adware on victim computers.
What is Trojan-Droppers u:
Trojan-Droppers usually save a range of files containing malicious programmes to the victim’s drive.
Once installed, a Trojan-Proxy allows an attacker to use the infected device as a proxy to connect to the Internet.
Expert speaks:
Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa said, malwares on mobile phones are usually divers.
“Mobile malware remains a significant threat for corporate and personal users across Africa.
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These attacks are usually very diverse with hackers leveraging a range of methodologies and technologies to compromise victim’s devices.
Trojan-Downloaders and Trojan-Droppers are especially dangerous given their potential to contain significantly damaging payloads.”
In addition to installing cybersecurity solutions on their mobile devices, like Kaspersky Total Security, here are a few additional ways users can enhance their security:
Steps to guard against malware attacks:
The company suggested ways people can protect themselves from malware attackers.
The solutions includes:
Create a strong password.
By putting a strong password on their smartphone, the device can become unusable if it is lost or stolen and the password attempt fails a certain number of times.
Do not trust SMS.
Mobile malware uses text messages, so users should never respond to requests for credit card details or other private information.
Check your browser for the lock symbol.
The lock icon in the address bar indicates that the sight is secure when entering personal data.
Install apps from reputable sources. Popular shopping sites such as Amazon or eBay have their own mobile applications. You must check to see they are the official apps from the company before you initiate a download. This can be done by checking the developer information and user ratings on the download page.
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