{"id":74195,"date":"2025-06-02T14:13:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T13:13:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/?p=74195"},"modified":"2025-06-19T10:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-06-19T09:39:48","slug":"south-africas-government-and-military-organisations-face-3480-attacks-per-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/2025\/06\/02\/south-africas-government-and-military-organisations-face-3480-attacks-per-week\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africa\u2019s government and military organisations face 3,480 attacks per week"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The recent cyberattack on SAA highlights the vulnerability of Government and para-governmental institutions in South Africa, says Check Point Software Technologies. According to a recent <em>Check Point Threat Intelligence Report<\/em>, South Africa\u2019s Government and Military institutions currently face the highest number of cyber-attacks at 3,480 attacks per organisation per week. This is followed by the communications sector which faces an average of 1,062 attacks per organisation per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGovernment and military organisations continue to take the brunt of cyber-criminal activities,\u201d says Lorna Hardie, Regional Director: Africa for Check Point Software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is in part due to the critical skills shortages impacting government institutions as well as the need for a coordinated and determined effort to secure key systems within the public sector. The growing reliance on digital infrastructure too, coupled with its public-facing nature, makes critical infrastructure prime targets for cyber criminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Check Point Software&#8217;s Q1 2025 Global Cyber Attack Report<\/em> reveals an almost 50% surge in cyber threats worldwide with Africa being the most targeted region and education, the industry&nbsp;most impacted globally. Government institutions, globally, with 2,678 attacks per organisation per week, saw a 51 % increase in cyber-attacks over the same period as last year. Ransomware attacks rose by 126% during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa with a comparatively modest number of attacks of 1,884 per organisation per week had the most dramatic rise in attacks with a YoY increase of 69%. Nigerian organisations experience an average of 4,388 attacks per week, 47% increase YoY, while Angolan organisations are attacked on average 4,727, +32% rise YoY. Kenyan organisations are attacked 4,004 times per week on average, +14% YoY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe continued rise in cyber-attacks underscores the need for more robust security measures. Organisations must prioritise strengthening their cyber security postures, including deploying advanced threat detection systems, training staff on cyber security best practices, and ensuring rapid incident response capabilities,\u201d Hardie adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Organisations must take proactive steps to safeguard their data and systems. Here are strategies inspired by best practices from Check Point Software:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enhance Security Posture: Regularly update and patch systems to close vulnerabilities. Multi-layered security measures, including firewalls and endpoint protection, are essential.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Employee Training and Awareness: Regular training sessions can educate employees about the latest cyber threats and phishing tactics, fostering a culture of vigilance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Advanced Threat Prevention: Utilise technologies such as sandboxing and anti-ransomware tools to detect and block sophisticated attacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Adopt Zero Trust Architecture: Implement strict identity verification for every person and device attempting to access network resources. This is particularly important to maintain hybrid cloud security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Regular Backups and Incident Response Planning: Ensure regular backups of critical data and develop comprehensive response plans to quickly address and mitigate the impact of attacks.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Network Segmentation: Isolate critical systems to limit the spread of attacks and protect sensitive information.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Vulnerability Management: Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, prioritising remediation efforts based on potential impact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Amongst other services, Check Point provides a Risk Assessment Service designed to assess how well the organisation is currently performing in compliance with existing or future Governance, Risk Management and Compliance frameworks. Its team assists clients in implementing a tailored Zero-Trust Strategy that caters to any organisation\u2019s unique needs and security requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately in the wake of increased cyber-attacks, security leaders must prioritise cyber security that allows for increased visibility and control, adopting customised strategies to stop attacks before they can impact their business \u2013 and their bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The recent cyberattack on SAA highlights the vulnerability of Government and para-governmental institutions in South Africa, says Check Point Software Technologies. According to a recent Check Point Threat Intelligence Report, South Africa\u2019s Government and Military institutions currently face the highest number of cyber-attacks at 3,480 attacks per organisation per week. This is followed by the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":74172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16131,15417,5,481,298,9059,13,262],"tags":[331,9232],"class_list":["post-74195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-cybersecurity","category-enterprise-security","category-government","category-main-story-newsletter","category-south-africa","category-top-stories","category-used","tag-check-point-software","tag-lorna-hardie"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74195"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74195\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74593,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74195\/revisions\/74593"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}