A new report published by INTERPOL has provided useful insights into cybercrime in Africa based on input from member countries and data drawn from private sector partners. Africa has an estimated 500 million Internet users that is apparently only 38% of the population so there is huge potential for growth. The continent apparently also has the fastest growing telephone and Internet networks in the world, and makes the widest use of mobile banking services.
According to the INTERPOL recent report, the top five cyberthreats in Africa are as follows:
- Online scams: fake emails or text messages claiming to be from a legitimate source are used to trick individuals into revealing personal or financial information;
- Digital extortion: victims are tricked into sharing sexually compromising images which are used for blackmail;
- Business email compromise: criminals hack into email systems to gain information about corporate payment systems, then deceive company employees into transferring money into their bank account;
- Ransomware: cybercriminals block the computer systems of hospitals and public institutions, then demand money to restore functionality;
- Botnets: networks of compromised machines are used as a tool to automate large-scale cyberattacks.
“Not only do criminals exploit vulnerabilities in cyber security across the region, but they also take advantage of variations in law enforcement capabilities across physical borders,” said Craig Jones, INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime. “INTERPOL’s regional cybercrime strategy for Africa provides a robust framework for sharing intelligence and coordinating action to strengthen the law enforcement response across Africa and beyond,” added Mr Jones.