Africa – cybercrime has turned the web into a hub of evil

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Africa is becoming an “online continent” despite its economic difficulties, at the same time there is a growing incidence of cybercrime.

According to Security Affairs a report released recently by the Symantec security company on the escalating cases of cybercrime, revealed that whereas the most prevalent type of attacks are against mobile phone users who are vulnerable to attacks by cybercriminals, followed by computer viruses and malware attacks. According to another study conducted by a German company, more than a quarter of adults who use their phones for browsing online experienced cybercrime through their mobile devices in the period ending in April 2013.

A study carried out in Africa last year indicated that the proliferation of the smartphone in the region has led to the increase in the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google plus. However, most of the users are vulnerable due to lack of protection, a scenario that has created a fertile ground for cybercrime attacks.

The number of Internet users in Africa is estimated to be at least 200 million plus and is expected to reach 500 million, some countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have a penetration rate of more than 70%.

Africa’s Internet access and device ownership ratio and the growth of the number of gadgets are considered to be the fastest growing globally, despite the fact that the continent is the poorest in the world. Studies in different African countries have revealed a continuous decrease in service tariffs and data costs. The drop in cost of accessing the Internet has transformed Africa into an “online continent.”

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

This has led to the growth in popularity of blogging, micro blogging through Twitter, social networking services like Facebook and Google plus, chat sites and apps like Whatsapp and gaming among many other services available online. Statistics show that the widespread use of the technology is accompanied by an increased risk of cyber attacks.

A study conducted by security experts in several African countries earlier this year revealed different cybercrime incidents depended on a country infrastructure and uptake of technology. However, uniformity was reported on the type of crimes committed online that included, but was not limited to bank account disruptions common in the East African region, massive theft of images and identity that cut across all regions, defamation, fraud, online gambling that were previously common in the Southern African region, pornography common in East Africa, money laundering common in West Africa and terrorist financing common in North and East African regions.

Statistics reveal that that cybercrime is growing at a faster rate in Africa than it is in other continents. Unfortunately, there are difficulties in investigating cybercrimes, such as jurisdictional challenges and a lack of skilled human resources. Cybercrime is a hair raising crime that drives fear among the authorities and law enforcement agencies because very few could know in advance what criminals could do with the ill gotten proceeds. We know that cybercriminals have been using their proceeds to fund terrorist activities around the world.

Any country that ignores cybercrime is equally ignoring its safety as well, and the consequences could be irreversible and fatal. In order for African countries and other regions to address cybercrime effectively, an effective approach to the crime should be adopted to include various areas ranging from prevention, detection and prosecution of cyber crooks.