Tim Akano, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of New Horizons Nigeria, has predicted that Nigerian banks, government institutions as well as the telecommunications sector are targets of cyber attacks this year.
He said the institutions and individuals could be targets of malware, ransomware, advanced persistent threats, spear phishing, social network attacks, cyber attacks on banks and telecoms and cloud backlash as a result of focus on cloud computing.
“Criminals would unleash malwares by sending messages to people’s personal computers (PCs) and laptops to steal information,” he said.
He also predicted a surge in mobile malware.
He said: “Smartphones and tablet vulnerabilities will be exploited by hackers to steal information and data for commercial gains and blackmail.
“When the ransomware pops up while browsing on the internet disguised as a genuine message from the law enforcement agents claiming that the computer user is into something unethical and illegal on the net, the device will then be locked automatically and a message requesting the owner to pay certain sum of cash into a code to get the device unlocked will be sent.
“At this level, malware that spread virus that monitors every app would have been successfully installed on the phone or tablet.
“Another security threat that will be unleashed this year is spear phishing. Under this, a user receives an email with a link to download an attachment and from the moment the user activates or clicks the download, the device is compromised.”
