Sophos, Sidmach claim 60% Nigerian businesses suffer cyber attacks

Cybercrime has become the greatest threat to every company and country in the world as estimated 54 per cent of companies globally experience at least one cyber-attack every year.

In Nigeria, it is even getting messier as 60 per cent firms suffer cyber-attacks. Shockingly, only 38 per cent of global organisations claim they have the infrastructure to handle a sophisticated cyber-attack.

Meanwhile, 43 per cent of cyber-attacks target small businesses, but only 14 per cent of these SMEs have effective infrastructure to mitigate cyber risks, vulnerabilities and attacks.

These were revealed at one-day Sidmach/ Sophos Lunch and Learn Event held in Lagos at the weekend.

According to the Country Manager of Sophos (Nigeria), Jimi Falaiye, businesses are often concerned about security of data; unfortunately, 95 per cent of security breaches are due to human error.

“Cyber-criminals and hackers will infiltrate your company through your weakest link, which is almost never in the IT department”, he said, adding that it takes organisations an average of 191 days to identify data breaches.

He further revealed that 92.4 per cent of malware is delivered via email, even as total cost for cybercrime committed globally added up to over $1 trillion in 2018.

Sharing more facts about cyber crimes, particularly as ransomware affects Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), the Market Intelligence and Research Analyst at Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, Nathanael Odofin, said that 22 per cent of organisations had to cease business operations immediately because of ransomware

“Reports reveal that 81 per cent businesses have experienced ransomware; 66 per cent have suffered a data breach; 35 per cent were victims of ransomware

He however said that anti-virus is not enough because most of them are reactive in nature.

“Antivirus protects you from classic dangers like known viruses, Trojans, and worms – ‘known’ being the operative word here. An Antivirus cannot protect without a signature database for detection

“But, most antivirus programs are reactive. A study has found that a typical antivirus will only stop 30-50 per cent of new malware when it first appears. Unless the antivirus software has seen a particular threat in the past, it won’t necessarily protect your computer.”

Referring to Verizon Data Breach Investigation Report, he reminded businesses in Nigeria that over half of all cyber breaches in 2017, included the use of malware. Malware activities include: stealing credit card details; revealing passwords and spreading spam.

“It is why the fortification of antivirus merely is not enough. You need to bolster this layer of defense with another layer (like an onion) – that of an antimalware.

“The organisers advised participants and other organisations in Nigeria to deploy software security solutions, which Sophos has developed to “keep a very close eye on what is happening inside your system, blocking both known and unknown malware threats. It also safeguards you against any potentially harmful programs”.

Earlier, the Managing Director of Sidmach Technologies, Peter Arogundade, said that Lunch and Learn event was aimed at assisting IT experts in different organisations to understand cost effective security dynamics, and tools that mitigate latest threats, while receiving insights to have complete visibility and control of their IT Infrastructure.

The MD, who spoke through the Head of Marketing, at Sidmach, Olanrewaju Adelanwa, described the sessions as crucial as they offered the experts new perspective on better architectures for end-to-end networks threats management with a one-stop-solution that Sophos brings.

“We are not referring to security for just the hardware, the emails and everything within your network protocol that requires protection. This even, basically, was organised to bring these professionals together and expose them to insights about what is happening in Nigeria and across.”