Mostly it is accepted that surfing the web poses dangerous security threats to users. In contrary to this, recent reports from analysis on cyber-attacks in Kenya last year made by Kaspersky, a security company, show that users are more likely to encounter malware-based attacks hidden in their personal devices and even storage devices.
This malware is considered a local threat since it stays on the device as a legitimate file for a while and then strikes later.
“It’s more common for malware to be disguised as something else to hide from the security solutions, remaining an unseen threat to users,” said Denis Parinov, a cyber-security expert at Kaspersky.
However, continued advancement in security solutions tries to eliminate these hidden threats.
Last year Kaspersky found out that malware threats attacked 25% of private users in South Africa, 38% in Nigeria, and 40% in Kenya. This was an increase from 9% in South Africa, 8% in Nigeria, and 11% in Kenya.
This shows cyber threat across Africa is evolving.
The company also noted the sophistication of such threats when malicious software is downloaded and being run while the user is browsing the internet.
To protect devices from cyber threats including malware the company recommends the user to:
- Avoid following dubious links from letters, messages, instant messengers, or SMS.
- Install updates for the operating system and applications regularly.
- Install applications only from official stores.
- Use complex and different passwords for their accounts.
- Regularly copy essential data to the cloud, USB flash drive, or hard drive.
- Avoid giving applications access to functions that don’t need.
