فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Marrakech: A report issued by the cybersecurity giant Kaspersky has revealed that Morocco ranks as the third most targeted African country by cybercriminals, alongside Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Senegal.
Kaspersky experts stated that they observed a 26% increase in the detection of password-stealing software in 2024, noting that hackers rely on malware specifically designed to collect sensitive login credentials.
According to the report presented at the GITEX Africa Morocco 2025 exhibition in Marrakech, Morocco is among the African countries most vulnerable to these intrusion attempts. Data indicates that 131,580,587 cyber threats were detected across the African continent in 2024, with businesses being the most frequent targets, registering a 1.2% increase in threat detections compared to 2023.
Maher Yamout, a security expert with Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), commented: “Africa’s rapid digital expansion has unlocked tremendous opportunities, but it has also exposed the continent to a growing array of cyber threats. Our statistics show a rise in attack detections across multiple threat types, and a confluence of factors is driving these increases.”
According to the study, Morocco ranks third in Africa in terms of the number of web threats detected last year, with 12.6 million attempted attacks. Kenya tops the list with 20 million attempts, followed by South Africa with nearly 17 million detected attempts.
Local threats, detected on devices, include malware that spreads via removable storage devices like USB drives, CDs, and DVDs, or that initially arrives on a computer indirectly as part of complex installation packages or encrypted files.
Kaspersky’s telemetry indicates a 4% increase in the detection of local threats within organizations in the African region during 2024 compared to 2023. Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa, and Ethiopia are among the countries that experienced growth in the detection of these local threats within organizations.
Quoting the report, Maher Yamout emphasized the need for organizations in Africa to adopt “a unified approach by fostering collaboration, investing in specialized cybersecurity training, and promoting digital literacy to effectively combat the surge in cybercrime. Initiatives such as Operation African Cyber Surge and targeted educational programs can serve as blueprints for building a resilient digital ecosystem across the continent.”
For protection, Kaspersky experts advise against downloading or installing applications from untrusted sources and caution against clicking on links from unknown senders or suspicious online advertisements. They also strongly recommend enabling two-factor authentication whenever available.
The experts further suggest creating strong and unique passwords using a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and symbols, while utilizing a reliable password manager and consistently updating software. They also advise ignoring messages requesting the disabling of security systems for desktop or cybersecurity software.
Regarding businesses, Kaspersky recommends avoiding exposing remote desktop services (such as RDP) to public networks unless absolutely necessary and always using strong passwords for1 these services.
