161,272 Financial Threats Blocked By Cybersecurity Firm

• 97% of Nigerians lost $1,000 equivalent to failed digital payment

About 37 per cent of Nigerians that make use of online banking and mobile wallet services have reported losing a substantial amount of money to the process.
Specifically, a digital payment survey conducted by Kaspersky, which revealed this, disclosed that the majority of users (97 per cent) lost up to $1,000 equivalent as a result of these incidents, while three per cent of the respondents reported a loss of more than $1,000.

According to the Kaspersky Security Network, 161,272 financial threats were blocked in Nigeria by Kaspersky in 2022. These attacks were aimed at stealing financial information such as credit card numbers and login credentials and usually rely on social engineering tactics to lure victims.

However, the report noted that the impact of cyber-threats targeting digital payments does not just impose a financial burden on consumers, but also affects them psychologically.

For example, Kaspersky said 60 per cent of respondents from Nigeria said that they were very anxious about getting their money back. 43 per cent of users reported that they have less trust in digital payment providers. 80 per cent also stated that they became more vigilant after experiencing a cyber-incident, and 65 per cent installed security solutions like an antivirus on their infected devices.

Head of technical experts at Kaspersky, Emad Haffar, said: “Since the beginning of the pandemic, 64 per cent of users in Nigeria faced at least one incident when using digital payments. That is why it is increasingly important to know how to interact securely with any emerging technologies, including online banking and mobile wallet services. And all stakeholders, like government, digital payment providers, users and even cybersecurity companies need to come together to create a sustainable and secure payment ecosystem.”

To help users embrace digital payment technologies securely, Kaspersky experts suggest the following: “Do not share your PIN, password or any other financial information with anyone online or offline; avoid using public Wi-Fi to make any online transactions; use a separate credit or debit card to make online transactions. Set a spending limit on the card, which can help keep a track of financial transactions; shop from trusted and official websites.”

The firm advised the use of a reliable security solution such as Kaspersky Premium on all devices, which are used for financial transactions. It helps to detect fraudulent or suspicious activity and check the security of visited websites.

For developers, banks and companies involved in providing digital payment services, Kaspersky recommended that they among others, invest in holistic cybersecurity solutions that can help detect fraud across multiple levels of online payment processes and consumer touchpoints.

It said complex attacks by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups on financial institutions are also on a rise. In-depth visibility and threat intelligence is a necessity to keep customers protected and to ensure business continuity. According to it, using the Kaspersky Threat Intelligence service is helpful to support IT teams in analysing and mitigating threats.

Kaspersky also advised firms and others to conduct cyber awareness training for employees continuously. This, it said will help employees know the red flags to look for when an organisation is under attack and to understand their role in protecting the organisation.