Kaspersky Lab reports on cyber threats in Africa

Kaspersky Lab, a leading global IT security risk provider, provides a detailed understanding of the cyber threat landscape across Africa, utilizing data compiled during the first quarter of 2014. The extensive data, collected from the Kaspersky Security Network, highlights Algeria as a significant hub for both local and internet-based cyber threats, surpassing even Egypt in this aspect. In addition to this, South Africa and Kenya also witnessed notable security incidences. However, in a worldwide setting, total security issues involving Africa accounted for a mere 4%, with an additional 3% traced back to the Middle East.

Ghareeb Saad, Senior Security Analyst at Kaspersky Lab, emphasizes, “Current cyber threats are more sophisticated and consistently evolving, with a noticeable increase in mobile and financial malware, advanced persistent threats, and web threats. Within Africa, removable devices and local networks pose as substantial sources of IT risk. Therefore, for both businesses and individual users, understanding the seriousness of these threats and implementing stringent security measures to safeguard their data becomes non-negotiable.”

During the initial quarter of 2014, Kaspersky Lab successfully intercepted over 49 million cyber-attacks and malware break-ins aimed at African users’ computer systems and mobile devices. This astonishing figure demonstrates a clear rising curve in cyber attacks and malware incidences, which has significantly swelled year over year from 140 million in 2012 to 214 million in 2013.

The Kaspersky Security Network data indicate that Algeria was the hardest hit by both local and internet-oriented threats, contending with a shocking total of 18.3 million cybersecurity episodes. More than half (54.5%) of users fell prey to local threats, while 31.6% were obstructed by online threats.

South Africa was subjected to over 4.6 million cyber-attacks and malware break-ins, affecting users’ computer systems and mobile devices, contributing to approximately 10% of the incidents in the region.

In this quarter, the Dinihou Worm emerged as the most recurrent malware utilized by cybercriminals in the region, leading to nearly 3 million system infections. The worm mainly spreads via removable media devices using .LNK files. Several security susceptibilities are related to the VLC Media Player, with most incidents connected to security exploits within Oracle Java, notably in South Africa.

Kaspersky Lab has published an all-encompassing global report detailing IT threat trends throughout Q1 of 2014, which can be accessed online.

This article was updated in 2025 to reflect current trends and insights.