Nigeria ranks 19th in global cyber-attack index

By Adeyemi Adepetun 

21 August 2024   |   2:58 am

Nigeria has been ranked 19th out of 112 countries facing serious cyber-attacks and threats. This is even as more African countries have joined the list of the most attacked globally, according to Check Point Software Technologies’ Global Threat Index for July 2024.

    
The research focused on the Normalised Risk Index (NRI) which measures the gap between a country’s cybersecurity posture and its level of vulnerability or risk of attack. The rating system also considered the number of attacks and the number of impacted organisations within each country.
    
According to the report, Ethiopia ranked highest among all surveyed countries, with an NRI of 100 per cent. Zimbabwe is the third most attacked country globally, with an NRI score of 77.1 per cent.
   
The report claimed that Nigeria has seen a sharp rise in its risk ranking, placing 19th globally with an NRI of 58.5 per cent. Further, Check Point added that Kenya and Ghana have also experienced significant increases, ranking 11th and 15th, respectively. Zambia is 63rd on the list, with an NRI score of 40.5 per cent.
    
South Africa moved up in the rankings to 59th globally (up from 61st in June), with an NRI of 42 per cent. The Maldives, Angola and Mauritius are featured on a list of the top 20 most vulnerable, with fourth, fifth and ninth positions respectively.
    
Head of Security, Sales Engineering for Check Point Africa, Issam El Haddioui, said these findings point to the urgent need for enhanced cyber security for African businesses due to the evolving threat landscape, and recent vulnerabilities like the CrowdStrike Falcon sensor exploit.
    
VP of research at Check Point Software, Maya Horowitz, noted that the rise of malware like Remcos highlights the opportunistic nature of cyber criminals and urges organisations in Africa to adopt robust endpoint protection, vigilant monitoring, and comprehensive user education.
    
According to the report, top malware families impacting Africa in July include FakeUpdates (SocGholish), which employs fake browser update prompts to install Remote Access Trojans (RATs) like AsyncRAT.
    
There is also Remcos. This comes following the CrowdStrike update issue. Remcos is used to gain unauthorised access to systems. There is Qbot, which targets organisations with credential theft and ransomware deployment.
   
Check Point also listed Phorpiex, which is known for orchestrating large-scale spam campaigns. Phorpiex has been particularly active in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. There is also Vidar, an infostealer malware-as-a-service, which collects sensitive data from browsers and digital wallets.