January 17, 2020//-Technology is taking over almost every aspect of our lives, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Technology has made tremendous contributions to worldwide development, including in Africa.
However, it also creates opportunities for criminals to take advantage of inherent vulnerabilities.
Cybercrime is a rampant global phenomenon. Every single corner of the world has been targeted and has fallen victim to cybercrime tactics, with varying degrees of success.
Africa is among the areas where cybercrime is particularly lucrative, with criminals enjoying great success in not only finding victims, but in managing to extract money or information from them. But what is it that makes Africa such a prolific target?
What is cybercrime?
To understand cybercrime, we must first talk about what cybercrime is. When we say cybercrime, we aren’t just talking about online hacking (although that falls under this definition). We’re also talking about many other crimes that are perpetuated online or with the help of a computer. These include:
- Phishing
Phishing typically occurs over email. Scammers often try to trick people into sending them money by lying to them. The “Nigerian prince” scam is extremely well-known and popular all around the world. That scam and other similar ones have been going around since the 90s.
Other phishing emails may let you know that you’ve won something, that you need to click a link and write your bank details for some reason, etc. Catfishing is also a popular practice, where someone impersonates another person to extract money from the victim.
- Cyberbullying/harassment
A lot of people are, unfortunately, unaware of the fact that bullying, abusing, or otherwise harassing someone online is considered to bea cybercrime. This phenomenon has really gained traction, especially among teenagers and children, as they have come to gain greater access to the internet and online resources.
The advent of social media has aggravated these instances and made it easier than ever before for people to target each other and even start widespread cyberbullying campaigns. The consequences are tragic, with teenagers often choosing to end their own life as a result of cyberbullying.
- Hacking
Hacking is, of course, one of the primary types of online crime one thinks about when discussing cybercrime. Hacking can happen to anyone, whether they’re an individual, an institution, or a private business entity.
Protective measures are necessary, but unfortunately, they’re not always employed. A big reason for this is lack of finances, but a general lack of knowledge can also be the culprit. People don’t always know that they need to ward against this kind of threat or what they can do, specifically. Breaking into a system is easier than one would think, especially if the security is lacking.
- The sale of illegal materials
The internet has come to be used in extremely nefarious ways, especially when talking about the dark web. The dark web hosts a variety of sites that are not traditional domains, that cannot be accessed normally, and that cannot be traced.
That means it naturally lends itself to rampant illegal activity. A lot of that consists of the sale of illegal materials – usually, drugs. That massively contributes to the drug problem Africa is facing right now, and which is projected to skyrocket by 2050. If cybercriminals have an avenue for distribution, that puts users in danger.
- The creation, distribution, or sale of child pornography
Unfortunately, an even darker aspect of cybercrime is the creation, distribution, and sale of child pornography. The child porn problem is rampant, and it is made worse through the existence of the dark web. Cybercriminals use this access as a means of distributing and selling this highly illegal, immoral, and damaging material.
It’s not an aspect that is often discussed when talking about cybercrime, but it is, unfortunately, one of the most impactful. More than any data breach, child porn is adeeply disturbing issue, and its effects are visible long-term.
Why is Africa a prime target?
One may be wondering why is Africa, of all places, a primary target for cybercrime? The reason is that Africa, along with other nations that are still in development, was slower in adopting widespread internet connections.
That means that while the Western world is well-versed in the possible trappings and downsides of the online world, these developing economies are still getting used to this.
Criminals see Africa and other similarly-economies as easy, inexperienced targets. They are taking advantage of the lack of education surrounding internet safety and preying on the vulnerable users of this technology that is still new to them.
In addition, many of the users targeted either do not know English or have a very poor grasp of the English language. Cybercriminals exploit the language barrier and the victims’ poor understanding in order to hook them on scams, including phishing emails, catfishing, etc.
Not only that, but Africa is in short supply of cybersecurity experts. With few professionals that are aware of the risks and necessary protective measures, educating and protecting users is a difficult task. In 2020, they are already missing an estimated 100,000 very necessary people.
This is a world-wide trend. While cybercrime is still very much present in first-world nations, criminals are very much shifting their focus on these developing areas, including many countries in Africa. Along with the Middle East, it represents significant potential for those who are looking to profit, because of the untapped financial resources these users have.
In fact, cybercrime managed to siphon as much as $3.5 billion from African countries in 2017 alone. As more users are gaining access to the internet, the number of victims is only growing, and so is the financial impact. Kenya lost $210 million to cybercrime in 2017, while Nigeria lost $649 million, making the popular “Nigerian prince” scam seem particularly ironic.
How can you protect yourself against it?
The stats don’t look good – but is it possible for users to secure themselves against the threat? Thankfully, it is, and here are some of the recommended measures one should take to minimize the risk of becoming a target for a cyberattack.
- Password-protect your accounts
The very first step should be to password-protect all your accounts, from bank accounts to email addresses. Nowadays, you have no choice, but to set passwords, but you also must make sure they’re strong passwords that are difficult to hack.
The ideal password should be at least seven characters long, and it should contain a series of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
Also, your password should never be a real word, or something easy to guess, like a name, a birthday, etc. The more complicated your password is, the harder it is to guess or hack.
- Invest in anti-virus software
Unfortunately, a lot of malware, ransomware, and viruses are downloaded or accessed inadvertently. When you’re navigating to certain websites, clicking on ads, or opening links, you may have the unpleasant surprise of downloading something dangerous.
The worst part is that you won’t even know. The offending material will gain access to your computer, without alerting you. Then, it will do damage, either by corrupting your computer, stealing sensitive information, or holding your files hostage until you pay the ransom.
The solution to this is to install high-quality anti-malware software. If you don’t have access or cannot afford a license, there are free trials available online from multiple anti-virus and security companies, so always make sure to keep your computer protected.
- Don’t open anything in your Spam folder
Generally speaking, anything that lands in your Spam folder is going to be nefarious, so you don’t need to open any emails you find in there. Occasionally, something legitimate may end up there by accident, but you should always check the sender, before clicking to open any emails.
9 times out of 10, it’s going to be a spammer trying to scam you. It is especially important to never download any attachments from these spam emails. They can wreak havoc on your computer in ways you can’t even imagine.
Bottom line
So, what’s the takeaway? Cybercrime is on the rise worldwide, but Africa is being targeted, more than other areas. The reason for that is that African users are vulnerable from multiple points of view.
The technology is still very new here, so users are neither educated nor experienced in issues of security. In addition, there is tremendous economic potential, so it’s not surprising that criminals would choose to milk African users for all they have, for as long as they can.
Thankfully, users can fight against this type of targeting by making use of anti-virus software and employing safe internet use tactics, like password-protecting everything, not clicking links or downloading attachments, and not opening spam emails.
By Errin Morgan, guest writer for African Eye Report
