With the number of cyber attacks on the increase, the Africa Data Protection association is launching a free online course for anyone who wants to better understand the fundamentals of data protection in Africa.

Why should Africans learn how to protect their data ?

Quite simply because the African continent is more vulnerable to cyber attacks than the rest of the world. The main areas affected by attacks are the financial sector (banks), electronic messaging, social media (Meta, YouTube, Tik Tok, etc.) cf. the latest report from the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

Sectors most affected by phishing in 2022 (Interpol)

According to an Interpol report on cybercrime in Africa (2023), the main cyberthreats identified in Africa are :

- False transfer order fraud campaigns : this low-risk activity is the most widespread. It involves a cybercriminal gaining unauthorised access to an organisation's email account and using it to send fraudulent messages to its business partners for profit,

- Phishing, a technique used by cybercriminals in which they pretend to be an organisation or individual you know in order to obtain your bank details or login details for financial services websites.

Read also : Africa Data Protection launches a free e-learning platform to raise awareness of data protection in Africa

- Ransomware, an operation that involves taking control of a person's or organisation's data or devices in order to extort money by blackmail,

- Banking Trojans and information thieves : this threat encourages buyers to lose confidence in online payment methods,

- Online scams : victims are generally unfamiliar with digital tools and are easy prey for cybercriminals who make false promises to extract money from them,

- Criminal software as a service : thanks to their low cost and the weakness of the legal framework for the repression of cybercrime in Africa, many software programs available online are used against companies with few resources or limited technical knowledge.

Over the years, the Internet penetration rate in Africa has increased, giving people greater access to technology and thus increasing the risk of falling victim to cyber attacks. In other words, the more the African population uses online applications, the more exposed they are to attacks of all kinds in the various sectors of activity.

Register now and become a data protection player in Africa

Would you like to learn how to protect your personal data and/or that of your company ? Register for the free online course by following this link : https://elearning.africadataprotection.org

Sources :

Rapport d’évaluation des cybermenaces en Afrique, Interpol, 2023

APWG Phishing Activity Trends Report 3rd Quarter 2022 

Africa data protection

Agence Ecofin

Vanessa Ntoh