Nigeria’s digital payment industry suffers 161,272 cyber attacks

Nigeria’s digital payment ecosystem has continued to witness persistent attacks by cybercrooks as over 161,272 financial threats were witnessed.

Complex attacks by advanced persistent threat groups on financial institutions will continue to be on a rise.

According to the latest report by cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Security Network, Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem wears a grim picture that shows 37 per cent of respondents in its study suffered financial losses last year.

The study said the majority of digital payments users, 97 per cent, lost up to $1,000 equivalent as a result of the threats they encountered when using online banking and mobile wallet services.

During the year, the security firm noted that three per cent of the respondents reported a loss of more than $1,000 equivalent while it said 161,272 attacks were repelled in the country.

It said in-depth visibility and threat intelligence are a necessity to keep customers protected from attacks and to ensure business continuity.

The attacks, the company said, were aimed at stealing financial information such as credit card numbers and login credentials and usually rely on social engineering tactics to lure victims.

The company warned that the impact of a cyber threat targeting digital payments does not just impose a financial burden on consumers, but also affects them psychologically.

For example, the company said: “Sixty per cent of respondents from Nigeria said 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.’’

According to the study, since the beginning of the pandemic, 64 per cent of users in Nigeria faced at least one incident when using digital payments.

Head of Technical Experts, Kaspersky, Emad Haffar, said: “That’s why it’s important to know how to interact securely with any emerging technologies, including online banking and mobile wallet services.

“And 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 users not share PINs, passwords, or any  financial information with anyone online or offline.

A cyber security group, Trend Micro Incorporated, had earlier in a separate report, estimated a colossal loss of Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya to cybercrooks at  $1.1billion yearly.

While Kenya’s financial loss stands at $36million; Nigeria’s and South Africa’s stand at $500 million and $570million.

The research lamented that while serious organisations across the world planned to increase cybersecurity budgets this year, 90 per cent of African companies aren’t bringing cyber security issues to the front burners.