During Kaspersky’s 9th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, experts delved into the changing cyberthreat landscape in the region.
The focus was on the security challenges posed by emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and threats targeting industrial control systems in critical infrastructure across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Kaspersky’s Cyber Immunity approach was highlighted as a strategy to develop solutions that are highly resistant to compromise, thereby minimizing potential vulnerabilities.
In Africa, Kaspersky’s telemetry revealed a 29% decrease in overall cyberthreats in South Africa in 2023 compared to 2022. However, phishing attacks employing social engineering tactics surged by 29%. In Kenya, overall threats decreased by 8%, but ransomware attacks rose by 68%, while backdoors, exploits, and phishing increased by 47%, 22%, and 19%, respectively. Nigeria experienced a 10% decrease in overall threats but witnessed an 8% increase in banking malware attacks aimed at stealing online banking credentials.
Analysis by Kaspersky indicated fluctuations in online threats stemming from vulnerabilities on web pages, emails, or web services across the region. The highest number of affected users was observed in Türkiye (41.8%), followed by Kenya (39.2%), Qatar (38.8%), and South Africa (35%). Fewer users were affected in Oman (23.4%) and Egypt (27.4%), with Saudi Arabia (29.9%) and Kuwait (30.8%) falling in between.

Amin Hasbini, Director of META Research Center Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky, remarked on the evolving cybersecurity landscape and the increasing diversity and sophistication of cyber threats. He highlighted the role of advanced technologies like AI and the geopolitical and economic turbulence in the META region, contributing to the rise in cybercrime and the complexity of cyberattacks.