by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – GOVERNMENTS as well as energy and telecommunications sectors are the top targets for perpetrators of advanced persistent threats (APTs) in Africa.
This is according to researchers at Kaspersky, the global cyber security and digital privacy company.
It is observing nine active threat actors that currently target organisations in Africa.
APT groups are complex threat actors that deploy targeted attacks, active for years on end.
These groups are often motivated by espionage, monetary gain, or in some cases, hacktivism.
According to Kaspersky intelligence, some of the most prominent groups in the region are MuddyWater, FruityArmor and Sidewinder.
These threat actors use a wide range of techniques to infiltrate their victims in the region. Social engineering is a common tactic used on social media or email, such as posting a fake job advert targeting software developers.
APT groups also deploy sophisticated modular malwares like DeadGlyph and StealerBot, as well as weaponising legitimate, remote applications, online services and cloud platforms – a technique used by MuddyWater APT group to penetrate into the targeted site.
Amin Hasbini, Head of Global Research and Analysis team for Middle East, Turkiye and Africa at Kaspersky, said the current geopolitical climate was a hotbed for APT activity, therefore, investigating these attacks and gaining intelligence on their movement was vital for security teams and corporations in Africa.
“Our research allows businesses and government entities to determine the significance of the threat posed, understand the attackers’ next move and accordingly be able to take the appropriate security steps to protect themselves,” Hasbini said.
Kaspersky has advised governments and sectors to upskill their cyber security teams to tackle the latest threats and educate employees depending on their IT knowledge with cyber security courses.
– CAJ News