Share

Hackers increase their attacks on Africa

accreditation
Hacker.
Hacker.

Harare – Cyber attacks are on the rise in Africa with mobile companies, internet service providers and other large businesses suffering server and website outages, says an ICT firm.

The most common form of cyber attack on telecom companies in Africa are Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, according to ICT solutions company Gilat Satcom.

DDoS attacks typically involve hackers flooding a server with thousands of requests that can knock out services.

“Cyber attacks have become a fact of life, with denial of service attacks targeting high-profile businesses and organisations making headline news on a daily basis,” said Dan Zajicek, chief executive officer of Gilat Satcom.

According to Gilat Satcom, “ISPs (internet service providers), cellular companies, banks and IT companies in Africa are all under near-constant attack”. The attacks “make websites and servers unavailable to legitimate users” and block both local and international links.

“Losing connectivity, even for a few hours, is extremely disruptive” and can significantly impact services and affect brands, said Zajicek.

Companies and telecom service providers that would have suffered DDoS attacks are also at risk of secondary attacks and need solutions to counter these attacks, according to other experts.

Gilat Satcom and other solution providers such as Abor Networks - which are focused on curbing African cyber attacks - are upgrading their solutions, bringing in “new and innovative security measures to ensure that … fibre and satellite customers in Africa are fully protected” from DDoS attacks.

Although most organisations in Africa have security solutions on their own networks to prevent cyber attacks, these require significant capital expenditure and operating expenditure budgets and may not be able to “secure their international connectivity, said the company.

Bryan Hamman, territory manager for sub-Saharan Africa at Arbor Networks, said this week that “DDoS attacks are a growing reality in Africa” although businesses across the continent were finding it difficult to easily determine “the return on investment of purchasing and deploying” preventive systems and solution.

“Since Africa has seen an immense increase DDoS attacks during the past couple of months, the continent has become a main focus area for Arbor Networks. As a supplier of superior DDoS defence systems we are able to show that an effective DDoS defence system can safeguard a business operating on the continent against DDoS-related outages,” said Hamman.

There has also been a sharp rise in DDoS attacks across the world, with a 2016 report by Neustar saying 82% of organisations suffered more than one DDoS attack in 2015 while about 57% of all attacked companies reported loss of customer data, finances or intellectual property.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.99
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
24.07
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.58
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
+0.5%
Rand - Yen
0.13
+0.7%
Platinum
902.95
+0.1%
Palladium
998.75
-0.7%
Gold
2,153.42
-0.3%
Silver
24.92
-0.5%
Brent Crude
86.89
+1.8%
Top 40
65,837
-0.6%
All Share
72,075
-0.5%
Resource 10
53,082
-0.4%
Industrial 25
99,417
-1.1%
Financial 15
16,638
+0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders