Ransomware attacks increased by seven per cent year-on-year in Nigeria in the first half of 2023, Kaspersky has said.
The firm explained that ransomware remains one of the main threats to information security globally and in the META region. It stated that the average cost of a ransomware attack was $4.54m in 2022, and its solution detected 74.2 million attempted ransomware attacks (20 per cent increase to 2021).
It said, “While the beginning of 2023 saw a decline in the number of ransomware attacks, in Q2 some regions saw an upward trend even when compared to the same period in 2022.
“According to Kaspersky Security Network data, in H1 2023 Nigeria saw a seven per cent increase in ransomware attack attempts on individual and corporate users compared to H1 2022.
“In Kenya, although there was a three per cent decrease when comparing H1 2023 to H1 2022, there has been a two per cent increase when comparing Q2 2023 to Q2 2022. All these attempts were blocked by Kaspersky Solutions.”
The firm noted that ransomware was becoming more sophisticated and targeted, with attackers targeting all types of organisations from healthcare and educational institutions to service providers and industrial enterprises.
The Head of Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team, Russia, Dmitry Galov, said, “Ransomware groups around the world continue to improve their techniques.
Galov said, “They are driven by three main factors. First, it is the chance of getting caught when attacking a certain organisation.
“The second factor is the size of ransom they can potentially receive. Finally, they always estimate the technical difficulty of the attack. If any one of these parameters goes out of line with the plans of the attackers, they reconsider.”
