Vulnerabilities of Cyber Security in Africa Unfold, Eritrean Youth Forewarns on Tackling Measurements
By: Mark Owen, HorMid (Sci-Tech Gate)
As it has been apparent that African countries are atop of the main victims of the integrated and individually managed cybercrime, a preface in a paper by Eritrean Information-Technology experts recommends on possible trends to address the matter. Marcel Claxton has the reports.
The Cost of Cybercrime in Africa in 2017 was estimated at $3.5 Billion, a rise from 2016, where African countries were estimated to lose at least 2/3 of the activated victims, two Eritrean experts comment on pre and post measurements African countries have to take thereby to tackle the eminent challenge. “Despite the fact that cyber-attacks occur with greater frequency and intensity around the world, many either go unreported or are under-reported, leaving the public with a false sense of security about the threat they pose and the lives and property they impact,” the paper by the Eritrean experts in the respective filed clarifies.
Though Western Africa has been atop of every region in the continent in the frequency and its subsequent repercussions of cybercrime attack, “a threat in web application security is growing as more governmental and private organizations and companies join the internet, a lot personal information is being shared every day in many vulnerable Africa websites. This leaves millions of African people open to cyber-attacks,” the youth add in paper they crafted with a vision time to ‘Make Our African Websites Safer (MOAWS).’
With high records of series cyber-attacks in Kenya from East Africa, Awet Ghideon, a Computer Engineering graduate from Eritrea Institute of Technology, states “ [no matter of where,] governments, businesses and individuals are all being targeted on an exponential basis, and, undoubtedly, infrastructure is becoming a target of choice among both individual and state-sponsored cyber-attackers. This has served to demonstrate just how vulnerable cities, states and countries have become, and the growing importance of achieving global risk agility in the face of such a threat.”
Jimmy Mebrahtu, one of the two Eritrean youth experts, also articulate that “creating a joint African web cyber security team that will protect, give consultancy and awareness to all African website owners towards fulfilling the African Union convention on cyber security and personal data protection,” is the mission of ‘Make Our African Websites Safer (MOAWS).’ “Working together with all African governmental and private organizations towards increasing awareness on secure and safe web applications, is the forefront objective of our mission,” adds.
By warning that if hackers and cyber-terrorists take full control of the websites or gain an administrative privilege that they can easily edit, modify, delete, and steal data from the vulnerable websites, “stealing personal information of an individual already shared with those vulnerable sites, economic espionages, disseminating fraud data, possibilities of escalated information chaos and other difficulties are in place if appropriate measurements are not taken,” the paper adds.
With an advocacy that isolationism from the internet world is not a pragmatic solution to cybercrime and cyber-terrorism, the Hague Security supported report forewarned both those completely free and completely closed countries in the internet arena as apparent threats on human development profiles. “Of course, to tackle the vulnerabilities, simply updating the Content management system (CMS) used to the latest patched version can prevent a lot of threat from the intruders,” assert both graduate from Computer Engineering of Eritrea Institute of Technology.
Following to the assertion by BBC in which government and commercial online services are mentioned for they could become the next frontier for illegal activity in Africa, security experts are warning that news media, healthcare, educational institutions, banks, airlines, technology companies and online shopping business, are getting momentum focus of cyber-attackers and similar internet-centered crime surrogates.
In support to the findings by Awet Ghideon and Jimmy Mebrahtu, the Hague Security Delta unfolds tremendous increase in Ransomware attack which was delimited to 35% only in 2015. “We—experts at PandaLabs-- analyzed 75 million distinct malware files from the top ten targeted regions of Africa; of course, West Africa is the main hub, while the Maghreb Region—North Africa—is on the path to other escalated possibilities of cyber attackers. Though countries in Horn Africa seem less susceptible to cyber-crime, the availability of low internet access and very saddening IT infrastructures have been armored wall of defense for development and notorious deeds by cyber-intruders paradoxically,” reads the paper.
Meanwhile, in a time where East African countries are competing on fierce ground of bidding their ports for different purposes, the possibilities on Maritime tasks has also been intact. “There is no denying the maritime industry's vulnerability to cyber-attack. Like other filed, it is also susceptible to such attacks by cyber-intruders as evidences from 179 ships hijacked coast-off Somalia and Horn Africa in 2012 shows that cyber-attackers are also engaging in transferring vital information on the targeted entities,” assert the Maritime Net Work.
Taking all the aforementioned eventualities, both graduates and experts on the cyber domain from Eritrea elucidate governments and individuals to reinforce necessary focus on the prevalence and escalation of the daily threats. “No one is free; and no one has to worry if we all study the fundamental ways of ensuring our computer and mobile surfing systems. Just taking the steps are what expect from us,” conclude Jimmy Mebrahtu and Awet Ghideon while expecting to present their looks to their African counterparts.
___________________
Mark Owen is a fellow instructor at IT Matters and writes on cyber security and on global internet trends. Use his Tor email Mo-20@tor.com for reasonable requests.
The Cost of Cybercrime in Africa in 2017 was estimated at $3.5 Billion, a rise from 2016, where African countries were estimated to lose at least 2/3 of the activated victims, two Eritrean experts comment on pre and post measurements African countries have to take thereby to tackle the eminent challenge. “Despite the fact that cyber-attacks occur with greater frequency and intensity around the world, many either go unreported or are under-reported, leaving the public with a false sense of security about the threat they pose and the lives and property they impact,” the paper by the Eritrean experts in the respective filed clarifies.
Though Western Africa has been atop of every region in the continent in the frequency and its subsequent repercussions of cybercrime attack, “a threat in web application security is growing as more governmental and private organizations and companies join the internet, a lot personal information is being shared every day in many vulnerable Africa websites. This leaves millions of African people open to cyber-attacks,” the youth add in paper they crafted with a vision time to ‘Make Our African Websites Safer (MOAWS).’
With high records of series cyber-attacks in Kenya from East Africa, Awet Ghideon, a Computer Engineering graduate from Eritrea Institute of Technology, states “ [no matter of where,] governments, businesses and individuals are all being targeted on an exponential basis, and, undoubtedly, infrastructure is becoming a target of choice among both individual and state-sponsored cyber-attackers. This has served to demonstrate just how vulnerable cities, states and countries have become, and the growing importance of achieving global risk agility in the face of such a threat.”
Jimmy Mebrahtu, one of the two Eritrean youth experts, also articulate that “creating a joint African web cyber security team that will protect, give consultancy and awareness to all African website owners towards fulfilling the African Union convention on cyber security and personal data protection,” is the mission of ‘Make Our African Websites Safer (MOAWS).’ “Working together with all African governmental and private organizations towards increasing awareness on secure and safe web applications, is the forefront objective of our mission,” adds.
By warning that if hackers and cyber-terrorists take full control of the websites or gain an administrative privilege that they can easily edit, modify, delete, and steal data from the vulnerable websites, “stealing personal information of an individual already shared with those vulnerable sites, economic espionages, disseminating fraud data, possibilities of escalated information chaos and other difficulties are in place if appropriate measurements are not taken,” the paper adds.
With an advocacy that isolationism from the internet world is not a pragmatic solution to cybercrime and cyber-terrorism, the Hague Security supported report forewarned both those completely free and completely closed countries in the internet arena as apparent threats on human development profiles. “Of course, to tackle the vulnerabilities, simply updating the Content management system (CMS) used to the latest patched version can prevent a lot of threat from the intruders,” assert both graduate from Computer Engineering of Eritrea Institute of Technology.
Following to the assertion by BBC in which government and commercial online services are mentioned for they could become the next frontier for illegal activity in Africa, security experts are warning that news media, healthcare, educational institutions, banks, airlines, technology companies and online shopping business, are getting momentum focus of cyber-attackers and similar internet-centered crime surrogates.
In support to the findings by Awet Ghideon and Jimmy Mebrahtu, the Hague Security Delta unfolds tremendous increase in Ransomware attack which was delimited to 35% only in 2015. “We—experts at PandaLabs-- analyzed 75 million distinct malware files from the top ten targeted regions of Africa; of course, West Africa is the main hub, while the Maghreb Region—North Africa—is on the path to other escalated possibilities of cyber attackers. Though countries in Horn Africa seem less susceptible to cyber-crime, the availability of low internet access and very saddening IT infrastructures have been armored wall of defense for development and notorious deeds by cyber-intruders paradoxically,” reads the paper.
Meanwhile, in a time where East African countries are competing on fierce ground of bidding their ports for different purposes, the possibilities on Maritime tasks has also been intact. “There is no denying the maritime industry's vulnerability to cyber-attack. Like other filed, it is also susceptible to such attacks by cyber-intruders as evidences from 179 ships hijacked coast-off Somalia and Horn Africa in 2012 shows that cyber-attackers are also engaging in transferring vital information on the targeted entities,” assert the Maritime Net Work.
Taking all the aforementioned eventualities, both graduates and experts on the cyber domain from Eritrea elucidate governments and individuals to reinforce necessary focus on the prevalence and escalation of the daily threats. “No one is free; and no one has to worry if we all study the fundamental ways of ensuring our computer and mobile surfing systems. Just taking the steps are what expect from us,” conclude Jimmy Mebrahtu and Awet Ghideon while expecting to present their looks to their African counterparts.
___________________
Mark Owen is a fellow instructor at IT Matters and writes on cyber security and on global internet trends. Use his Tor email Mo-20@tor.com for reasonable requests.
