Cybercrime is Costing Africa's Businesses Billions (qz.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Sophisticated malware, software security breaches, mobile scams -- the list of cybercrime threats is growing. Yet African nations continue to fall short of protecting themselves and must constantly grapple with the impact. A new study from IT services firm Serianu shows the pervasive nature of cybercrime across the continent, affecting businesses, individuals, families, financial institutions, and government agencies. The study shows how weak security architectures, the scarcity of skilled personnel and a lack of awareness and strict regulations have increased vulnerability.

Cybercrime cost the continent an estimated $3.5 billion in 2017. The report found more than 90% of African businesses were operating below the cybersecurity "poverty line" -- meaning they couldn't adequately protect themselves against losses. At least 96% of online-related security incidents went unreported and 60% of organizations didn't keep up to date with cybersecurity trends and program updates. (In addition, at least 90% of parents didn't understand what measures to take to protect their children from cyber-bullying.)

Comments

compulsory scam

[Anonymous Coward]

Hello Sir,

permit me to inform you of my desire of going into business relationship with you. I have the believe you are a reputable and responsible and trustworthy person I can do business with from the little information so far I gathered about you during my search for a partner and by matter of trust I must not hesitate to confide in you for this simple and sincere business.

I am Jame Ponzi 19 years of age the only daughter of late Mr Ponzi whom was injustly pursued by the corrupted US government. I ran to Canda from were I am contacting you. Before the death of my father he told me that he has a sum of US$9,000,000(Nine million united states dollars) kept in a private security company here in the US and my name as the next of kin,

Dear, in the capacity of the next of kin and with all the documents in my hand now, I am contacting you with due sence of humanity that you will give it a sympathetic and mutual consideration.

I am honourably seeking your assistance in the following ways.

(1)To serve as the guardian of this fund and to come assist me visit the security company here to retrive the consignment. ....... :)

Prescience from 'Count Zero' (1986)

[Anonymous Coward]

"The Wig reasoned that all that
obsolete silicon had to be going somewhere. Where it was
going, he learned, was into any number of very poor places
struggling along with nascent industrial bases. Nations so
benighted that the concept of nation was still taken seriously.
The Wig punched himself through a couple of African back-
waters and felt like a shark cruising a swimming pool thick
with caviar. Not that any one of those tasty tiny eggs arnounted
to much, but you could just open wide and scoop, and it was
easy and filling and it added up. The Wig worked the Afri-
cans for a week, incidentally bringing about the collapse of at
least three governments and causing untold human suffering.
At the end of his week, fat with the crearn of several million
laughably tiny bank accounts, he retired. As he was going
out, the locusts were coming in; ofher people had gotten the
African idea."

Not the biggest cost

[onyxruby]

How many companies write off doing business with Africa due to rampant and persistent fraud from Nigeria alone? Whether your buying or selling to Africa, the risk of theft and fraud is more than a lot of businesses and people want to deal with. How much business is lost in Africa due to these concerns? Africa needs to deal with corruption if it ever wants to truly prosper.

as though we do?

[cascadingstylesheet]

(In addition, at least 90% of parents didn't understand what measures to take to protect their children from cyber-bullying.)

Like we do??

Kids everywhere have pocket internet connected computers, social media accounts, etc. and the vast majority of first world parents don't care (or don't have a clue that this kind of exposure is optional).

We don't let our kids have them and we are considered weirdos by our society.

I'd say the 90% figure applies here equally well.

Crime costs Humanity Trillions

[mi]

There, fixed the headline for ya'll: "Crime is Costing Humanity Trillions". The amount of effort and materials we have to put into locks, fences, safes, etc. is mind-boggling. And, in addition to those expenses, the law-enforcement efforts — in the US alone — are estimated as $280 billion per year.

Remember this, when someone tries to romanticize criminals (such as with "Godfather").

Re:Crime costs Humanity Trillions

[mi]

S/Godfather/capitalism/

I grew up in the USSR. There were far more locks, fences, and armed guards than in the land of Capitalism.

So, take your anti-Americanism, shove it up your ass, and move to Venezuela...

Both [Re:Too many desperate people]

[XXongo]

Poverty does not cause crime. Crime causes poverty.

Both. It's a feedback cycle.

When you spend all of your time committing crime, instead of getting an education and working, then you live in poverty. When the only thing you care about is killing and stealing, then you live in poverty.

And, in reverse, when you have no possibility of getting an education and no jobs, then you live in poverty, and are likely to commit crimes as a way to improve your situation, or even as a way to survive.