{"id":832999,"date":"2025-07-29T07:23:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T05:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=832999"},"modified":"2025-07-29T07:23:54","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T05:23:54","slug":"credential-theft-surges-in-south-africa-nec-xon-issues-critical-cybersecurity-warning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/832999\/credential-theft-surges-in-south-africa-nec-xon-issues-critical-cybersecurity-warning\/","title":{"rendered":"Credential theft surges in South Africa \u2014 NEC XON issues critical cybersecurity warning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With cybercrime now ranked as South Africa\u2019s top business risk, NEC XON has issued a stark warning: the country is facing a dual onslaught of credential theft and AI-powered cyberattacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As threats escalate, NEC XON urges organisations to rethink cybersecurity\u2014not as a compliance checkbox, but as a strategic, AI-driven business priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nec.africa\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_term=July+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to learn more about NEC XON.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCredentials have become the skeleton key to an organisation\u2019s digital assets,\u201d says Armand Kruger, Head of Cybersecurity at NEC XON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve uncovered over 10,000 compromised South African credentials on the dark web during recent assessments. That\u2019s not just a statistic\u2014it\u2019s an open invitation to attackers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These credentials are often harvested by malware known as credential stealers, which infect personal and corporate devices to extract saved login data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cybercriminals use this data to hijack online banking, gain unauthorised access to systems, and launch damaging attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The #1 Attack Vector<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the IBM 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, compromised credentials are now the most common entry point for breaches in South Africa, accounting for 17% of incidents and costing businesses an average of R56 million per breach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mimecast\u2019s 2024 State of Email Security Report shows that human error\u2014primarily phishing and password reuse\u2014accounts for 40% of breaches, yet only 22% of organisations offer continuous cybersecurity training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve traced compromised credentials directly to South African domains with no multi-factor authentication in place,\u201d says Kruger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s like leaving the front door open and being surprised when someone walks in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a  data-lightbox=\"post-image\" href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-833001\" srcset=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Armand-Kruger-Head-of-Cybersecurity-at-NEC-XON-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\"><em>Armand Kruger, Head of Cybersecurity at NEC XON.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">AI-Powered Threats Demand AI-Powered Defenses<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The game is changing. According to the World Economic Forum Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Report (2025), AI is now a major enabler of cybercrime\u2014used to automate phishing, social engineering, and adaptive malware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCybercriminals are no longer working harder\u2014they\u2019re working smarter,\u201d says Kruger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTraditional security can\u2019t keep up. That\u2019s why we need to fight AI with AI.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This trend is confirmed by the Kaspersky IT Security Economics Report (2025), which shows a 26% increase in password-stealing malware across Africa, and Picus Labs\u2019 Red Report 2025, which found a 300% surge in credential theft attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Business Continuity Through Intelligent Security<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kruger stresses that cybersecurity is a business resilience asset, not a sunk cost. AI-driven solutions should include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Real-time detection and response \u2013 Freeing up humans to focus on prevention, not recovery<br>Business risk quantification \u2013 Aligning security with operational priorities<br>Optimised spend \u2013 Delivering more protection without waste<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NEC XON\u2019s own Managed Detection &amp; Response (MDR) team recently prevented a ransomware attack using AI that automatically quarantined malware, disabled compromised credentials, and isolated the infected endpoint\u2014without human intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cCybercriminals don\u2019t wait for board meetings or RFPs\u2014they strike fast, test limits, and adapt constantly,\u201d says Kruger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why AI in cybersecurity is no longer optional\u2014it\u2019s a business imperative.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Security Visibility Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>NEC XON advocates for AI-powered, consumption-based security services that include live dashboards, real-time response reports, and collaboration tools to break down operational silos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSmart cybersecurity protects and enables the business,\u201d says Kruger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou need to see the threat before it knocks. With AI-powered anticipation and actionable intelligence, you can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nec.africa\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_term=July+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to learn more about NEC XON.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEC XON urges organisations to rethink cybersecurity &#8211; not as a compliance checkbox, but as a strategic, AI-driven business priority.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":833000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[8556,4070,15232],"class_list":["post-832999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-ai","tag-cybersecurity","tag-nec-xon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":833331,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832999\/revisions\/833331"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/833000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}