Microsoft has urged government, businesses and individuals in Nigeria to beware of new and increasing cyber threats posed by botnets, ransomware, and phishing attacks etc.
Akin Banuso, Country Manager for Nigeria & Ghana at Microsoft, gave the charge on Wednesday at a media roundtable in Lagos.
According to him, with constant ongoing cyber attacks rising to the surface across the African continent, it’s evident that governments and industries must put in place measures to successfully mitigate cyber risks.
He re-emphasized Microsoft’s commitment to providing a safer and more trusted platform to organisations and businesses in the region.
“As organisations continue to digitally transform, so does their exposure to threats within cyberspace. Organisations need to leverage ever-improving capabilities with advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence to efficiently combat cybercrime.
“We have a responsibility to educate businesses about these recent developments – this is what encompassed our goal for this event,” says Banuso.
Commenting on the new cyber threats, Daniel Adeyemo, Digital Advisor for Microsoft Middle East & Africa, said: “From our ongoing research, we found that in the past year ransomware attacks as a vector declined, software supply chains have become a risk, cryptocurrency mining is prevalent, and phishing still remains the preferred attack method.
“While this may indicate progress in blocking ransomware attacks against organisations, it also draws our attention to new avenues now being identified for attacks. These new avenues are very easily ignored by organisations but are a recognisable ‘pathway’ for penetration.”
While security has always been a focus for Microsoft, the organisation recognises that the digital world requires a new approach on how to protect, detect and respond to security threats, Daily Trust reports.
Microsoft’s approach to this, which also served as a topic of discussion at events encompasses how the organisation aims to better protect all endpoints – from sensors and data centres to identities and SaaS applications.
It also aims to detect threats faster using the scale and intelligence of the cloud, machine learning and behavioural monitoring. Finally, Microsoft empower customers with insights that are actionable and holistic facilitating faster and comprehensive response.
“While there will always be new threats, attacks and technologies, organizations and companies can begin to take action today to address security concerns and improve their security postures.
“It is critical for companies to strengthen their core security hygiene (across areas like monitoring, antivirus, patch and operating systems), adopt modern platforms and comprehensive identity, security and management solutions, and to leverage features offered within cloud services.
“It is just as important to create education and awareness across employee populations in order to build and sustain a pervasive security culture,” Banuso adds.
Also, Adeyemo further opines: “We believe that security is a journey and not a destination. This must be addressed holistically by everyone and not by a single vendor.
“By working closely with our partners, governments, industry, and the security ecosystem our aim is to ensure consumers and businesses can trust the technology they make use of – not viewing these solutions as barriers to technology adoption.”
The session provided insight to the status of the local cybersecurity landscape and unpacked key trends that have risen to the fore.
Microsoft’s recently published Security Intelligence Report, which delved into the cybersecurity events that took place over the past year includes an overview of the threat landscape, lessons learnt from the field and recommended best practices – this was also unpacked at the event.
The report identified four key trends that have risen to the forefront in the fight against cyber threats.
