“Checkpoint Software Technologies has discovered two major vulnerabilities related to mobile devices over the past month – Man-in-the-Disk which our researchers discovered is a new attack surface for Android apps and FakesApp which researchers discovered is vulnerability in WhatsApp that allows a threat actor to intercept and manipulate messages sent by those in a group or private conversation.”
‘The mobile attacks are having a major impact on cooperate organisations and individuals in Nigeria just as the country is quickly becoming a mobile-first country in Africa, with mobile penetration increasing from 53 per cent in 2016 to 84 per cent in 2017.’
Regional Director, at Check Point, Africa, Rick Rogers, who revealed this at the 2018 Check Point Experience Conference in Lagos, further revealed, African countries are under siege by cybercriminals, with the prevalence of mobile device with almost zero security features. He said Nigeria is inclusive.
Mobile attacks on Nigerians and companies are growing in prevalence even though major malware like Ransomware, cryptominer, and banking trojans have had a big impact, however, there is still a large vacuum to be exposed, Rogers said.
He said the attack on Nigeria has an impact on the global market, at the average of 20 per cent – 35 per cent higher between January and August this year, which according to him is not to be taken lightly.
In his words: “The current threat landscape has evolved into a much more aggressive beast. We are now experiencing Gen V (5th Generation) cyber-attacks, which are characterised as large-scale and fast moving across multiple industries.
“These sophisticated attacks on mobile, cloud and various enterprise networks, easily bypass conventional defenses being used by most organisations today as they rely on older generations of security.
“It’s no surprise that mobile attacks are having a major impact on organizations is Nigeria. One of the key markets in Africa, Nigeria is quickly becoming a mobile-first country, with mobile penetration increasing from 53 per cent in 2016 to 84 per cent in 2017.
“The sheer economy of scale offered by mobile devices is incredibly appealing to cybercriminals. They are using every available opportunity to attack individuals and organisations through their mobile devices, including Apps, particularly because these devices are so popular and people usually do not take as strict precautions when it comes to securing them as they would with their laptops for example.”
The tech expert explained that there is need for local businesses to partner with security specialists that can help them remain one step ahead of the game to explain why they have extended their footprint in Africa to Nigeria.
To ensure that enterprises across Africa have access to the expertise and technology needed to protect themselves from sophisticated attacks on all fronts, the Roger said the company has invested in growing its local teams in North Africa, East Africa, South Africa, SADC and West Africa through the following appointments:
“We have Bryan Chuka Ofoegbu – as the Acting Country Manager for Nigeria and West Africa; Grant Hamilton – Country Manager for South Africa; Kendi Ntwiga-Nderitu – Country Manager for Kenya and East Africa; Tony Galvao – Sales Manager, South Africa; Filipe Galvao – Acting Country Manager for SADC (excluding South Africa) and Matan Burstein – Africa SE Manager,” he said.
