Internet-Based Crimes Increased By Almost 300 Percent In 2020

According to Interpol, online criminal activities are increasing at an alarming rate, with new techniques being developed daily. Individuals involved in this act are becoming more difficult to deal with. Sophisticated criminal organizations operate globally, and can attack vulnerable websites in record time.

Interpol believes that the only way to tackle this problem is to evolve with technology and innovation. That way, they can have an idea of what to do when they have to tackle cybercrime.

According to Ms. Funmilola Odumuboni — Senior Manager of Cyber Risk Services, Deloitte — cybercrime takes place every 39 seconds globally. She also stated that cybercrime saw an exponential increase by almost 300 percent last year, due to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ms. Odumuboni made this statement at the conference themed “Cybersecurity: The challenges we face today.” The conference is organized every year by Central Securities Clearing System Plc.

“Confidentiality, integrity, and availability are the three main pillars of cybersecurity. The information intended to be better protected is indeed fully secured and out of the public space; the information available is reliable, and the facilities are ready for use when needed”, Odumuboni stated.

“Since the advent of the pandemic, cybercrime has increased by almost 300 percent and occurs every 39 seconds. Human error is the major factor for cybersecurity issues. It is responsible for about ninety-five percent of information attacks online. Eighty-six percent of the attacks were monetarily driven, ten percent by covert operations, and thirty-six percent involved phishing — eleven percent more than the previous year”, she added.

Another notable guest who also spoke at the event was Mr. Jalo-Waziri — CEO of CSCS — who also spoke about issues concerning cyber attacks.

“This conference in its third year is relevant, due to the rising worldwide frequency of cyber-attacks, particularly since network intrusion caused by remote connectivity linked with work-from-home offers new types of internet security vulnerabilities, he said.

“The extended pandemic caused by COVID-19 has boosted digitization and use of technological innovation, while also posing new cybersecurity threats.” We need to safeguard ourselves and our surroundings from the growing susceptibility of cyber-attacks when we browse the Internet and connect to various applications on our official networks, smartphones, and other mobile gadgets”, he added.

Mr. Harrison Nnaji — Chief Information Security Officer, First Bank Group — also spoke at the conference.

“This year, the persistent outbreak of COVID-19 will result in a greater malicious attack, information infringements, and a slew of home network or work-from-home cyberattacks”, he disclosed.

“Increased network intrusion, threatening fileless and ransomware attacks, growing attack on key cloud assets (crypto marketplaces, distribution network, blockchain, Wireless sensor Networks, Open Application programming interface, and interconnected devices), enterprise software, and remote communication systems will be a key focus for malicious attackers”, he further stated.