According to a 2021 study conducted by Liquid Intelligent Technologies, more than 90% of IT decision-makers in Kenya, South Africa, and Zimbabwe have increased their Cyber Security. This is due to the significant rise of digital ways of working.
The study also established some of the most serious concerns about Cyber Security threats, as well as the most serious consequences of digital breaches on an organizational level. According to the research, 79 percent of businesses in all three countries attribute an increase in Cyber Security threats to remote working.
Data breaches such as data extortion, data leakage, and data disclosure account for nearly 71% of cyber-attacks on Kenyan businesses. Furthermore, email attacks such as Phishing are regarded as the most serious digital threats by more than 70% of South African and Zimbabwean organizations.
The research participants also indicated an increase in consumption of Cloud-based services this year, with 96 percent in South Africa, 95 percent in Kenya, and 75 percent in Zimbabwe. This is the result of an increase in Microsoft Office 365, Teams, Zoom, Google Workspace, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services.
However, cyber security threats and concerns appear to be on the rise as the workforce continues to migrate to digital platforms. According to the study, managing user access to information, data loss and recovery, data visibility and control, and compliance challenges continue to be some of the most pressing concerns for organizations. Almost 80% of the organizations in this study from Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Kenya agree that cyber security threats have increased in the last year.
According to the study, an emerging trend for 2021 is that 53% of respondents cite security and data protection as major concerns. Managing user access to information, data loss and recovery, and a lack of security controls provided by Cloud providers are among the top security concerns raised by businesses using Cloud services.
Ignus de Villiers, Group Head of Cyber Security at Liquid Intelligent Technologies, stated at the report’s unveiling, “The result of our research confirms that Cyber Security should be at the center of every business conversation and emphasizes the need to establish an appropriate Cyber Security Framework that matches the business environment.”
