{"id":695039,"date":"2023-06-10T13:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-06-10T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=695039"},"modified":"2023-06-09T17:27:49","modified_gmt":"2023-06-09T15:27:49","slug":"the-biggest-cyber-security-threats-for-businesses-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/technology\/695039\/the-biggest-cyber-security-threats-for-businesses-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"The biggest cyber security threats for businesses in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Africa is seeing an uptick in the number of cybercrimes reported in the country.<\/p>\n

According to Sophos\u2019 The State of Ransomware in South Africa 2023 report<\/a>, most (78%) South African organisations were hit by a ransomware attack last year.<\/p>\n

The number of ransomware attacks in South Africa was far higher than the 66% recorded for global respondents over the same period.<\/p>\n

Moreover,<\/a> in South Africa, increased load shedding and the new work-from-home systems have increased the number of cybercrimes.<\/p>\n

Gerhard Swart, the chief technology officer at cyber security firm Performanta, said that hybrid work systems and work-from-home setups have encouraged bad security habits, such as weak passwords, the reuse of passwords and sharing of passwords between colleagues.<\/p>\n

In addition, load shedding also causes people to swing between access points based on timing and location, opening their systems up to bad actors.<\/p>\n

There are also many other ways in which employees expose their company to potential digital threats.<\/p>\n

KnowBe4, a security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, provided the top 10 most risky behaviours that employees engage with on their work devices.<\/p>\n