South Africa's medical sector hit by ransomware attack

also ft; Up and Downs of 5G connectivity in Africa

CybAfriqué is a space for news and analysis on cyber, data, and information security on the African continent.

If you're in Africa or a Nigerian like me, you'd probably be wondering what gender issues have to do with a regional policy issue called the SAMOA agreement, but, that's very much the government of the day. Since this does not clearly concern cybersecurity, until it becomes a genuine matter of concern, South Africa is in the spotlight for different reasons. We focused on the unending hospital hacks globally and why Africa is going south with 5G connectivity. 

– Adebola. 

HIGHLIGHTS 

Why Hackers target hospital systems 

Recently, South Africa's National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) was breached, although no customer data was accessed, patients now grapple with survival as deleted backups hinder treatments. This is not the first time South Africa’s healthcare system has been penetrated. In 2020, a private hospital, Life Healthcare, was also hacked. 

There has been a sharp surge in compromise of hospital systems and hackers would gain more from this. IBM, in its ‘Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023’, found that hospitals and generally the healthcare industry lead with the highest cost of data breaches for the 13th consecutive year. 

Several hospitals give out these ransoms owing to the risks patients would face once their data is leaked at even cheaper prices. Besides, a lot of African healthcare technologies are outdated and cannot prevent or challenge attacks. 

With Cyberattacks expected to grow by 15% in 2025, this poses a huge threat to the healthcare industry globally, as well as citizen’s data. 

Up and Downs of 5G connectivity in Africa 

The ecosystem is growing rapidly and the need to integrate State-of-the-Art technologies is imminent. Many developed ecosystems globally use 5G systems in not just companies but also at the household level. This is unlike Africa. 

Mobile Network Operators such as MTN, Airtel, Vodacom, Orange, Safaricom, Mascom, and Mafab Communications, among others, have rolled out 5G technology in at least nine (9) countries.

It might be argued that 5G use cases are not yet important in Africa since maintaining infrastructures is costly and the digital divide margin is far apart. Data finds that as of December 2023, 1.04% of Nigeria's 124.7 million active telephone users subscribe to 5G. In other countries, users are as low as 600. 

This paper argues that for 5G connectivity adoption, cybersecurity infrastructures might just be the way out. 

FEATURES 

Symantec, an American consumer tech company has allegedly identified fake Quran apps targeting Nigerian users with Android malware. Religious apps used to breach consumer's data are not new in Africa. This BBC report finds that malware is equally contained in Bible apps. 

It has been some weeks since the Kenyan street protest sparked by the Finance Bill 2024, however, citizens continue online activism, calling out the government and requesting specific changes. This piece details how Kenyan citizens are using social media to achieve their goals. 

HEADLINES 

• Orange Cyberdefense reveals an alarming increase in cyber-extortion in its latest report - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine 

• Nigerian cloud provider hit with ransomware attack as government agency works to “swiftly resolve incident” - TechCabal

• SIM card cartel kingpins nailed in South Africa - My Broadband 

• ICASA tightens rules on mobile market power with act amendment - Techpoint Africa 

• South African pathology labs down after ransomware attack - The Cape Independent 

• South Africa's Department of Public Works lost over $16m to cybercriminals in 10 years - Techpoint Africa

• Four Malicious Apps Android Users In Nigeria Must Beware Of – NITDA - Channels Television

ACROSS THE WORLD 

A Hacker Stole OpenAI Secrets, Raising Fears That China Could, Too

Russian-Linked Cybercampaigns put a Bull’s-Eye on France. Their Focus? The Olympics and Elections

Threat Actor Claims Data Breach at Microsoft Exposing Records of 2,073 Employees

Personal and health info leaked from Florida Department of Health

India’s Airtel dismisses data breach reports amid customer concerns

OPPORTUNITIES 

DIRECT (Data Rights and Enforcement through Community Trust) Small Grants | Paradigm Initiative 

DRILL Programme | Paradigm Initiative