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Tom Muleya-Fraud Insight
The drastic impact Covid-19 had on the Cyber landscape calls for more water-tight measures to secure the Enterprise in the Covid world. Many organisations are operating with little or no preparation to deal with cyber threats.
Cybercrime is real and requires Management of Businesses & Corporates, IT decision makers and IT security teams to continuously make improvements to organisational cyber resilience strategy in the Covid world. Cyber criminals are very pessimistic; where others see a crisis, cyber criminals see an opportunity. Researches have shown that ransomware attacks loomed large globally in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic besieged the world.
According to Mimecast, a Threat Centre research indicated that Email threat rose to 64 percent in 2020. The ‘Cyber Mafias’ were taking advantage of the rise in digital activity of online services and transactions.
The Research Centre also noted that 61 percent, that is more than 6 in 10 companies, suffered a ransomware attack in 2020. Fifty-two percent of ransomware victims paid threat actors ransom demands. Only 65 percent recovered their data, while 35 percent never saw their data again despite paying the ransom.
The Companies impacted are said to have lost an average of six working days to downtime.
In pre-Covid-19 period, ransomware scams were already there. In June 2017, The Chronicle Newspaper carried a story headline: “Hackers hijack NUST Website” and demand $6 billion to restore it.
At the same time, Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) allegedly had suffered cyber-attacks where the hackers took temporary control of servers hosting the institution’s website and emails. However, the Institution moved quickly to restore its data, and students were able to login.
Due to the gravity of the ransomware attacks, I suppose many companies never report these cases with a view to protect the corporate image, hence the reason there are few cases in the Police records.
Cyber threat is a living threat in Zimbabwe. The Herald on 7 May 2021 indicated that Zimbabwe’s national security is under threat from a plethora of cybercrimes that are causing havoc across the world.
The paper further indicated that urgent action was required because the country was vulnerable to online crimes. The statement by his Excellency Cde ED Mnangagwa: “Don’t give criminals space, says President”, carried in The Herald, 21 August 2021 sums it all. The President reiterated that criminals must never be given breathing space to commit offences because that will not only harm people and society as a whole, but also impede the attainment of national development goals that the Second Republic is pursuing.
He said this while handing over 82 new vehicles to the Police.
It is an undeniable fact that the global world is under siege from the proliferation of cybercrimes that range from attacks against computer hardware and software. Lack of cyber preparedness among Businesses, Corporates, Enterprises, and State Institutions will promote an environment favourable for cybercrime to flourish.
All stakeholders involved in the fight against cybercrimes must fortify security systems to prevent further attacks. Cyber criminals have changed the way they operate or do business, so Security and IT teams must do the same.
Get empowered by Fraud Insight and prevent or minimize cyber-related fraud scams. Watch out for the next issue.
For your feedback, WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail: [email protected]. Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the Criminal Investigations Department. Harare.
Online Reporter