Africa's Cybercrime Surge: Deepening Geopolitical Tensions and the Rise of Advanced Persistent Threats.
Cybercrime is on the rise in Africa, with Nigeria and Kenya alone losing nearly $100 million in 2021. Advanced persistent threats (APTs) are becoming more sophisticated and prevalent, fueled by deepening geopolitical tensions. Malware and ransomware attacks have soared, and next-generation tools are bypassing antivirus programs, resulting in a surge of living-off-the-land (LOtL) attacks.
Despite the economic costs, which are estimated to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, there is a scarcity of security experts, poor reporting habits, and a lack of global agreements on how to regulate cyber threats. Cybercrime damages trust among internet users and the reputations of public and private service providers. Governments and critical infrastructure are increasingly targeted, but there are few global norms, standards, and rules to mitigate and prevent cybercrime.
Many public authorities, corporations, and civil society groups targeted are not mandated to report data breaches and cyber theft, making it difficult to develop targeted solutions. Cyber criminals profit from ransomware and selling data assets, from credit card information to login credentials. The perpetrators range from powerful intelligence agencies to teenage hackers. Cybercrime is distributed, making it difficult to stop without global cooperation or a major structural change to the internet.
The United Nations is discussing a cybercrime treaty called the Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes. While most western governments prioritize individual data protection and privacy rights, the treaty's parameters are still being negotiated.
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