The training, held at the Staff Clinic Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, was themed “Cybersecurity in 2026: Defending Against Modern Threats in a Digital Workplace.”

It brought together personnel from multiple MDAs to improve their understanding of emerging cyber risks and modern security best practices.

The programme focused on key cybersecurity threats expected to shape the digital landscape in 2026. These included artificial intelligence-driven attacks, deepfake-enabled fraud, advanced phishing schemes, ransomware, identity theft, cloud security risks, and supply chain compromises.

Participants were taken through interactive lectures, scenario-based discussions, case studies, and practical sessions aimed at improving their ability to identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats in the workplace.

Speaking during one of the sessions, Mr Olabanji Soledayo, Strategic Partnership manager and Cybersecurity Awareness evangelist at ESET Nigeria highlighted the growing importance of human awareness in combating sophisticated cyberattacks and safeguarding digital work environments.

He noted that individuals within organisations are a critical line of defence as attackers rely more on social engineering and identity-based tactics.

He also commended the Lagos State Government for its continued collaboration with ESET in strengthening cybersecurity capacity across its institutions.

Technical sessions at the training covered areas including email security, endpoint protection, ransomware defence, threat detection, and modern cybersecurity practices relevant to government institutions.

Speaking at the event, Mr Kadri Shamusideen, deputy director, Ministry of Science and Technology emphasized the importance of cybersecurity awareness as government services continue to undergo digital transformation.

He added that as government operations become increasingly digitised, cybersecurity awareness has become a critical component of public service delivery.

While technology provides the necessary security controls, our employees remain the first line of defence against cyber threats. Continuous education and awareness are therefore essential in ensuring that staff can identify emerging threats and respond appropriately.

Mr Kadri described the training as timely and relevant, noting that cyber threats continue to evolve in complexity and sophistication, commending the impressive turnout of participants and the support received from various MDAs across Lagos State.

According to him, strategic collaboration between government institutions and cybersecurity industry leaders remains critical to strengthening national cyber resilience.

ESET Nigeria noted that the programme forms part of its broader commitment to helping organisations across Nigeria improve cyber resilience through awareness, education, and advanced cybersecurity solutions.

The company noted that as cybercriminals increasingly adopt artificial intelligence, social engineering techniques, and identity-based attacks, employee awareness remains one of the most effective defences against modern cyber threats.

• ESET Research has released its H2 2025 Threat Report with statistics covering the period from June through November 2025.  
• Phishing accounted for 45.7% of all detected cyber threats in South Africa during the reporting period, representing a higher share than the African average.
• ESET researchers observed continued evolution in scam activity globally, including higher-quality deepfakes, signs of AI-generated phishing websites, and short-lived advertising campaigns designed to evade detection. 
• While AI-powered malware emerged globally in H2 2025, ESET experts note that established social engineering techniques remain the primary attack vector affecting South Africa. 

ESET Research has released its latest Threat Report summarising the threat landscape trends observed in ESET telemetry and analysed by ESET threat detection and research experts in the second half of 2025.

According to the data, in South Africa, phishing remains the highest risk category impacting users and organisations, accounting for 45.7% of detected threats compared with 32.5% in Africa.

“Phishing remains the leading initial access vector affecting South African companies,” says Tony Anscombe, chief security evangelist at ESET. “The higher proportion of phishing detections reflects both attacker focus and the continued effectiveness of social engineering. Attackers are prioritising threats that allow them a greater opportunity for monetisation.”

While phishing dominates the South African market, there has been an accelerated evolution in scam activity globally. According to the report, detections of HTML-based scam campaigns such as the Nomani investment scam, have grown by 62% over the past year.

In ESET telemetry, detections of Nomani scams grew 62% year-over-year, with the trend slowing slightly in H2 2025.

Nomani scams have recently been expanding from Meta to other platforms, including YouTube. These threats have come with improved techniques that include higher resolution deep fake videos, AI-generated phishing websites and short-lived advertising campaigns which are increasingly difficult to detect.

AI remains a pervasive threat, both locally and abroad. In the second half of 2025, ESET discovered PromptLock, the first known AI-driven ransomware capable of generating malicious scripts on-demand at speed.

While AI is primarily used for crafting convincing phishing and scam content, PromptLock is an example of  a growing body of AI-driven, intelligent threats signalling a new era in cybercrime.

NFC threats are also gaining momentum, growing in both scale and sophistication, with an 87% increase in ESET telemetry and with notable upgrades and campaigns observed in the second half of 2025.

Anscombe notes that South Africa’s widespread reliance on card-based payment systems makes this class of attack more relevant than in regions where mobile money platforms dominate. These attacks rely on social engineering to persuade victims to install malicious Android applications that relay card data and PINs in real time.

Ransomware has continued its global momentum with ESET Research projecting a 40% year-on-year increase in publicly reported ransomware victims compared with 2024.

While South Africa isn’t one of the most affected countries globally, the largest number of analysed ransomware attacks were aimed at companies in the United States, followed by Spain, France, Italy and Canada, Anscombe points out that South African organisations have experienced a number of ransomware incidents during the reporting period. Two of the ransomware-as-a-service solutions dominating the market at present are Akira and Qilin, with a newcomer, Warlock, introducing innovative evasion techniques.

EDR killers are proliferating as well, underscoring the relevance of endpoint detection and response tools in mitigating the threat.

South Africa is also actively participating in efforts to counter cybercrime. The country took part in Operation Sentinel, a joint law enforcement initiative coordinated by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, which resulted in 574 arrests and the recovery of approximately $3 million linked to cyber-enabled crimes.

The company’s Digital Crimes Unit (DCU), armed with a U.S. court order, seized 338 domains that cybercriminals used to impersonate Microsoft and trick unsuspecting users into entering their credentials. 

The operation, led by Nigeria-based developer Joshua Ogundipe, relied on Telegram to sell phishing kits to more than 850 subscribers.

According to Microsoft, the service has been used to steal at least 5,000 login details across 94 countries since it launched in July 2024. The group reportedly earned over $100,000 in cryptocurrency payments from customers who used its kits to run phishing campaigns.

Steven Masada, assistant general counsel at Microsoft’s DCU, warned about the simplicity, and the danger, of such services. “Cybercriminals don’t need to be sophisticated to cause widespread harm. Simple tools like Raccoon0365 make cybercrime accessible to virtually anyone, putting millions of users at risk.”

Investigators said Raccoon0365 targeted a wide range of industries, including financial institutions and healthcare providers. One campaign, themed around U.S. tax filings, attempted to compromise more than 2,300 organisations in just two weeks earlier this year. 

Microsoft’s partner in the lawsuit, the Health Information Sharing & Analysis Centre (Health-ISAC), confirmed that at least five healthcare organisations had already fallen victim.

Errol Weiss, chief security officer at Health-ISAC, explained that: “So many of the attacks start because somebody gave up their user name and password to a bad guy. Once that cybercriminal has access to the network, then it’s just up to the imagination in terms of what comes next and how they monetise it.”

Cloudflare, which had unknowingly hosted some of the operators’ infrastructure, worked with Microsoft and the U.S. Secret Service to shut down the phishing network. 

The internet security company said the attackers were skilled but left operational security lapses that exposed their identities. Blake Darché, Cloudflare’s head of threat intelligence, stated: “They’re in people’s accounts, they compromise lots of people, and it needs to obviously be stopped.”

Court filings show that Ogundipe and his associates played specific roles including coding the phishing tools, managing subscriptions, and offering customer support to fellow cybercriminals. 

Investigators were able to tie him to the network after he mistakenly exposed a cryptocurrency wallet connected to the scheme. A criminal referral has been sent to international law enforcement.

The case highlights a disturbing evolution of phishing-as-a-service. Raccoon0365 recently introduced AI-MailCheck, an artificial intelligence feature designed to scale phishing operations further. Security researchers warn that this could make phishing attempts harder to detect and more damaging.

Check Point Research has noted that Microsoft is the most imitated brand in phishing attacks globally, accounting for 25% of attempts between April and June 2025; the rapid spread of networks like Raccoon0365 is a huge factor in this surge.

For Microsoft, the seizure is only one step. The company said more enforcement actions are expected as it works with global partners to dismantle the wider criminal ecosystem feeding off its brand identity.

The company, founded by Cy Khormaee and Ryan Luo, both of whom previously worked on Google’s Safe Browsing and reCAPTCHA projects, seeks to ensure autonomous AI agents outsmart today’s phishing, malware, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. 

Unlike rule-based systems, which attackers usually bypass, AegisAI’s system learns in real-time and adapts to evolving threats.

Email is still the easiest entry point for attackers. Traditional filters struggle against AI-powered phishing campaigns, which are more convincing than ever. 

A 2024 study found that phishing emails written by large language models had a 54% click-through rate, compared to 12% for human-written messages. This gap reveals how much more effective AI-powered lures have become, and how ill-prepared most defences are.

Attackers are no longer just relying on domains, they now exploit trusted services such as Salesforce, Zoom, and Google, making their content appear legitimate enough to bypass conventional filters. This has left enterprises exposed, with security teams overwhelmed by alerts and false positives.

AegisAI’s Pitch

Instead of static rules or user training manuals, AegisAI brings what it calls a network of AI agents that inspect and neutralise threats automatically. The company says customers are already seeing up to 90% fewer false positives compared to traditional solutions.

The platform integrates with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, with minimal setup required. Security teams can view real-time dashboards showing attempted intrusions, from AI-generated spear phishing to fuzzing attempts.

Co-founder and CEO Cy Khormaee explained the motivation, “We’ve spent almost a decade each protecting billions of users at Google, we’ve seen firsthand how enterprise email defences are falling behind. We’re seeing the sophistication of AI powered attacks increase rapidly while existing email security defences are standing still. This leaves security leaders without the tools they need to defend their organisations.”

Ryan Luo, co-founder and CTO, added, “We don’t believe in creating more alerts — we believe in creating better security outcomes. Our mission is to protect organisations without adding operational burden and to give security teams the reliable intelligence they need to focus on what matters most.”

Pilot customers say the results have been decisive. Bam Azizi, CEO of Mesh, stated, “As a former security founder, I’ve seen the cat-and-mouse game play out for decades—especially in email security, where attackers constantly evolve to trick employees. Aegis is the first solution that truly changes the game.

“They came into Mesh and stopped attackers in their tracks. Our dashboard shows everything from fuzzing attempts to AI-generated spear phishing and BEC, and Aegis catches them all—without my team wasting time managing rules.”

At Lokker, CEO Ian Cohen said the system immediately flagged threats aimed at critical teams, “We immediately saw threats to our accounting, engineering, and executive teams in the dashboard. Aegis enabled us to see and stop these threats without our team manually hunting them down.”

Backed by Accel and Foundation Capital

The $13 million seed round was co-led by Accel and Foundation Capital. The funds will drive product development, expand engineering talent, and accelerate go-to-market efforts.

According to Eric Wolford, Partner at Accel: “The AI era will inevitably drive disruption in email—the easiest attack vector. We were looking for a team that was AI-native—people who didn’t just whitewash with AI—people who had the DNA and career investments in the development of AI. Cy and Ryan were that right team. They are both AI-native and have spent an enormous amount of time in email security at Google.”

Following a stealth phase with fintech and tech companies, AegisAI is now moving into wider commercial deployment. Its founders argue that the industry doesn’t need more alerts or user training but tools that stop threats before they reach employees’ inboxes.

With both the scale of AI-driven attacks rising and traditional defences falling short, AegisAI is aiming to be a timely safeguard in one of cybersecurity’s biggest challenges.

In a statement published on Monday, the company made it clear that the panic resulted from misinformation. “Several inaccurate claims surfaced recently that incorrectly stated that we issued a broad warning to all Gmail users about a major Gmail security issue,” Google wrote. “This is entirely false.”

The confusion arose after multiple outlets reported that users had been advised to reset their passwords due to a large-scale compromise.

Many Gmail account holders were surprised, having never received any such notification. The figure of 2.5 billion suggested the warning should have reached everyone, yet it did not.

Behind the rumours lies a smaller incident that occurred in June. Hackers linked to groups such as ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider breached a Salesforce database Google uses to manage advertiser contacts.

The attackers gained entry through social engineering, posing as IT staff before deploying malware.

The data they accessed included business names, contact details, and CRM notes, but no Gmail passwords, emails, or private content. Those affected were notified directly by early August.

While the Salesforce breach did not expose Gmail itself, it triggered a surge in phishing and impersonation attacks. Fraudsters have been exploiting the stolen information to send fake support emails and even make phone calls, a tactic known as “vishing.”

According to Google’s Threat Intelligence Group, phishing and vishing now account for 37% of successful account takeovers across its platforms.

The company stressed that its defences are robust, blocking the vast majority of threats. “While it’s always the case that phishers are looking for ways to infiltrate inboxes, our protections continue to block more than 99.9% of phishing and malware attempts from reaching users,” Google explained in its blog post.

Google also used the opportunity to encourage stronger digital habits. It recommends adopting passkeys, biometric-based alternatives to traditional passwords, and staying alert for suspicious emails or calls.

Although last week’s reports led some users to reset their Gmail credentials in fear of a breach, cybersecurity experts point out that regularly updating passwords is still good practice. The bigger lesson is the importance of clarity, panic spread quickly because a blog about phishing trends was mistaken for a global warning about Gmail itself.

Currently, Gmail users are not under the sweeping threat that headlines suggested. The risk is phishing, not a collapsed wall of Google’s email security.

The company disclosed these findings in its August 2025 Threat Intelligence Report, raising fresh alarms over the fast-growing misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime.

According to the report, attackers attempted to manipulate Claude into: drafting phishing emails with psychological precision, generating and debugging malicious code, bypassing filters through repeated prompts, producing persuasive propaganda posts at scale, and even guiding inexperienced hackers with step-by-step instructions. 

In one case, Claude Code was used in a campaign that targeted 17 organisations, from healthcare providers to government agencies, with ransom demands reaching $500,000.

Anthropic confirmed that its security defences intercepted the activity. Compromised accounts were banned, high-risk prompts blocked, and restrictions placed on access to financial, adult, and pirated content. 

The company also introduced mandatory confirmation for risky actions such as publishing or sharing sensitive personal data. These measures, it said, cut the success rate of prompt injections from 23.6% to 11.2%, a notable improvement in system resilience.

The company explained: “We will continue publishing reports whenever we detect major threats. Our goal is to help the wider community understand how these systems may be exploited and how to stop them.”

Earlier this year, Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service was breached, allowing hackers to generate harmful content by sidestepping safeguards. OpenAI, in June, launched a dedicated initiative to combat malicious use of AI in covert operations and cyber espionage. 

Google’s Gemini has also faced issues for what was described as inadequate transparency in its safety measures.

Governments are now stepping in. The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act began enforcement on 2 August 2025. It introduces strict risk management rules for general-purpose AI, cybersecurity-by-design requirements for high-risk systems, and penalties of up to €35 million or 7% of global turnover. 

In the United States, the White House has secured voluntary commitments from major AI developers, but critics argue that only binding regulation will close the gap between safeguards and threats.

With AI models becoming more powerful, the line between innovation and exploitation will only grow sharper.

These threats exploit personal information, such as names, birthdays, and shopping habits, to craft convincing fraudulent communications that urge immediate action, like clicking on malicious links or divulging sensitive information.

According to Gartner, phishing remains a top cybersecurity threat, with attackers employing multiple channels – including email, text messages, voice calls, and QR codes – to gather information and compromise systems.

The sophistication of these attacks has increased, making them harder to detect and more damaging when successful.

Cybersecurity is an ongoing battle. The recent attacks on major retailers have shown that no one is immune.

If you receive an unexpected message or call requesting sensitive information, it’s crucial to pause and verify. When in doubt, hang up, don’t click, and don’t respond.

To protect yourself and your organisation, consider the following best practices:

• Be Skeptical of Unsolicited Communications: Treat unexpected calls, emails, or texts with caution, especially if they request personal information or prompt immediate action.

• Verify Before You Act: Instead of clicking on links or calling numbers provided in suspicious messages, independently search for official contact information to confirm the legitimacy of the request.

• Avoid Sharing Sensitive Information: Legitimate organisations typically do not request sensitive data through informal channels. If you’re unsure, refrain from sharing personal details until you’ve verified the request.

• Stay Informed About Emerging Threats: Attackers continuously adapt their methods. Staying updated on the latest phishing tactics can help you recognise and avoid new forms of deception.

Gartner’s research highlights the need for a risk-based approach to threat management, focusing on the most likely and impactful cybersecurity threats.

By prioritising threats like phishing and credential abuse, organisations can allocate resources effectively to mitigate risks.

It’s time to stop dreading cybersecurity and start mastering it. By staying alert and informed, we can prevent attacks and protect our digital lives. Stay alert. Prevent attacks. Stay informed.

He made this call while speaking at a recent conference in Abuja, underscoring the critical imperative for enhanced cyber awareness and the cultivation of responsibility at every echelon of governance and within the broader populace.

“We need to encourage Internet users to take cyber responsibility at the local, regional, national, and international levels. This can be done through advocacy and public education,” he said.

Bayero’s address comes at a crucial juncture as Nigeria’s digital footprint expands rapidly, bringing with it an escalating urgency for robust cyber awareness.

As of today, Nigeria faces a growing tide of cyber threats, ranging from sophisticated hacking attempts and deceptive phishing schemes to pervasive online harassment, all posing substantial dangers to individuals, businesses, and the overall stability of Nigeria’s economy.

He believes that achieving cyber sanity necessitates a unified and concerted effort involving all stakeholders, encompassing government bodies, private enterprises, and civil society organizations.

Meanwhile, in his speech, he made key recommendations to foster a more secure and responsible digital environment in Nigeria.

Such recommendations include increasing cyber awareness, encouraging responsible behaviour, strengthening cybersecurity infrastructure and developing effective policies.

In a strong call to action, Dr. Agabi also urged the Nigerian government and the National Assembly to prioritize the integration of cyber awareness and responsibilities at all levels of their operations and within the wider society.

He highlighted the vital role of effective communication and sustained advocacy in shaping public attitudes and behaviours within the digital realm.

With over N9 billion lost to fraud in the banking system as of July 2023, there are indications that the figure could have risen to over N20 billion by year end as cybercriminals intensified their effort to defraud customers of Fintech, Commercial  banks and Online shoppers.

However, there are various types of baits used by fraudulent people in the recent times to catch in on innocent, but unsuspecting people.

The following lists show a handful of them.

1. Phishing

Phishing may be one of the older tricks in the book, but it is still a favourite standby for cybercriminals as phishing tactics become more sophisticated.

According to Bleeping Computer, scammers tend to target holiday shoppers with emails advertising big-ticket or hard-to-find items to entice them to click on a malicious link.

For example, cybercriminals could send a phishing email promising a sweet deal often referred to as the discount scam on the latest gaming system.

Jumping at the opportunity to score such a great gift for a low price, an unsuspecting shopper might click on the link and swiftly hand over their credit card details. But instead of receiving the gaming system, they receive alerts of suspicious purchases from their bank  purchases that cybercriminals made with their credit card information.

2. Fake Websites

During the holidays, many brands increase their online advertising to boost sales. It   will likely take advantage of this trend by creating fake websites and ads impersonating companies that consumers know and love.

For example, cybercriminals can create fake websites and ads promoting unrealistic discounts and bargains that look remarkably similar to an online retailer’s site. If a customer clicks on the fake website and makes a “purchase” by inputting their credit card information, the scammers will then be able to use this data to make fraudulent purchases elsewhere.

3. Fraudulent Social Media Posts

Many consumers rely on social media to stay upto-date on the latest deals, and scammers are eagerly looking for ways to take advantage.

To target shoppers via Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, etc., criminals use fake social media posts offering vouchers, gift cards, freebies, and contests in the hopes that the user will click on the post and hand over their personal or financial information.

Perhaps a user comes across a fake contest for a $1,000 Amazon gift card on Instagram all they have to do is enter their login credentials to enter.

Little would  they know that this contest has been formulated by scammers and submitting their login for entry is just handing over their data for cyber-scrooges to exploit. Criminals can also take advantage of shoppable social media posts to target holiday shoppers with advertisements for non-existent or counterfeit items.

Today, 130 million Instagram users tap on shoppable posts to learn more about products every month.

It’s likely that these users will also rely on shoppable posts to interact with products they’re interested in purchasing for holiday gifts.

Cybercriminals can entice these users by creating fraudulent social media ads for products they don’t actually have.

If an unsuspecting shopper purchases through the fake ad, their financial information will not only find its way into the hands of the scammer, but they also won’t receive what they initially paid for.

4. Travel Phishing and Charity Scams

According to the Wall Street Journal, travel and charity scams also tend to spike around the holidays.

Travel scams could show up in the form of an email stating that a booking has been canceled, sending you to a fake website where you’re asked to enter your credit card number to set up a new reservation.

You could also receive an email directing you to a clone site offering deals on a house rental, flight, or hotel room that seems too good to be true — as long as you hold your reservation with a deposit.

Cybercriminals,  also know that consumers tend to make charitable donations around the holidays, and many are quick to take advantage.

A charity scam might target victims via social media feeds, asking people to donate to a fake organization.

Consumers should always do their research on a charity before they donate to prevent money from ending up in a scammer’s pocket.

Cybercrime encompasses a wide range of criminal activities that are carried out using digital devices and/or networks.

These crimes involve the use of technology to commit fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, and expanded upon in other malicious acts.

Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in computer systems and networks to gain unauthorized access, steal sensitive information, disrupt services, and cause financial or reputational harm to individuals, organizations, and governments.

In 2000, the tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders placed cybercrimes into five categories: unauthorized access, damage to computer data or programs, sabotage to hinder the functioning of a computer system or network, unauthorized interception of data within a system or network, and computer espionage.

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• Ransomware attacks saw a sharp increase once again over the past year.
• AI and the increase in mobile-connected devices provide further areas of vulnerability for cybercriminals to exploit.
• Early detection can reduce the cost of breaches up to a thousandfold.

Following two years of high but stable loss activity, 2023 saw a worrying resurgence in ransomware and extortion losses, as the cyber threat landscape continues to evolve.

Hackers are increasingly targeting IT and physical supply chains, launching mass cyber-attacks, and finding new ways to extort money from businesses, large and small.

It’s little wonder that our customers and clients rank cyber risk as their top concern in the annual Allianz Risk Barometer survey.

Ransomware claims activity was up by more than 50% year-on-year in 2023. Meanwhile, so-called Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) kits, where prices start from as little as US$40, have been a key driver in the rising frequency of attacks overall.

Gangs are also carrying out more attacks faster, with the average number of days taken to execute one falling from around 60 days in 2019 to four.

Most ransomware attacks now involve the theft of personal or sensitive commercial data for, increasing the cost and complexity of incidents, as well as bringing greater potential for reputational damage.

As a global insurer, Allianz Commercial’s analysis of large cyber losses (€1mn+) in recent years shows that the number of cases in which data is exfiltrated is increasing – doubling from 40% in 2019 to almost 80% in 2022, with activity in 2023 tracking even higher.

Protecting an organization against intrusion therefore is a cat-and-mouse game, in which cyber criminals have the advantage.

Threat actors are now exploring ways to use artificial intelligence (AI) to automate and accelerate  cyber-attacks, creating more effective malware and phishing. Combined with the explosion in connected mobile devices and 5G-enabled Internet of Things (IoT), the avenues for cyber-attacks look only likely to increase in the future.

At Allianz, our global team of risk engineers regularly monitors the cyber landscape, assisting companies with mitigating emerging risks. Threats currently on our radar include:

1. The power of AI (to accelerate cyber-attacks)

Threat actors are already using AI-powered language models like ChatGPT to write code. Generative AI can help less proficient threat actors create new strains and variations of existing ransomware, potentially increasing the number of attacks they can execute. We expect an increased utilization of AI by malicious actors in the future, necessitating even stronger cybersecurity measures.

Voice simulation software has already become a powerful addition to the cyber criminal’s arsenal. There was the case of the CEO of a British energy provider transferring around US$250,000 to a scammer after they received a call from what they thought was the head of the unit’s parent company, asking them to wire money to a supplier. The voice was generated using AI. Deepfake video technology designed and sold for phishing frauds can also now be found online, for prices as low as US $20 per minute.

It is not all bad news though. We might see more AI-enabled incidents in the future, but investment in detection backed by AI should also help to catch more incidents earlier.

2. Mobile devices expose personal and corporate data

Lax security and the mixing of personal and corporate data on mobile devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops, is an attractive combination for cybercriminals. Allianz Commercial has seen a growing number of incidents caused by poor cyber security around mobile devices.

During the pandemic, many organizations enabled new ways of accessing their corporate network via private devices, without the need for multi-factor authentication (MFA). This also resulted in several successful cyber-attacks and large insurance claims.

Criminals are now targeting mobile devices with specific malware to gain remote access, steal login credentials, or deploy ransomware. Personal devices tend to have less stringent security measures. Utilizing public wi-fi on such devices can increase their vulnerability, including exposure to phishing attacks via social media.

The rollout of 5G technology is also an area of potential concern if not managed appropriately, given it will power even more connected devices, including sophisticated applications – from driverless cars to smart cities.

However, many IoT devices do not have a good record when it comes to cyber security, are easily discoverable, and will not have MFA mechanisms, which, together with the addition of AI, presents a serious cyber threat. Even today we see devices with default passwords that are available on the internet.

3. Cyber security skills shortage affects the cost and frequency of incidents

A growing shortage of professionals will increasingly complicate cybersecurity efforts. The current global cyber security workforce Gap stands at more than four million people with demand growing twice as fast as supply. Gartner predicts that a lack of talent or human failure will be responsible for over half of significant cyber incidents by 2025.

In short, because technology is moving so fast, there are not enough experienced people to keep pace with the threats. It’s very hard to get good cyber security engineers, which means companies are more exposed to cyber events.

Without skilled personnel, it is more difficult to predict and prevent incidents, which could mean more losses in the future. The shortage of cyber security experts also impacts the cost of an incident.

Organizations with a high level of security skills shortage had a US$5.36mn average data breach cost, around 20% higher than the actual average cost, according to the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023.

Early detection is key to combating emerging cyber threats

Preventing a cyber-attack is becoming harder, and the stakes are higher. As a result, early detection and response capabilities and tools are becoming ever more important.

If you have an undetected loophole in your network, it is a potential Achilles heel. And if you do not have effective early detection tools it can lead to longer unplanned downtime, increased costs, and have a greater impact on customers, revenue, profitability, as well as your reputation.

The lion’s share of IT security budgets is currently spent on prevention with around 35% directed to detection and response.

However, if undetected an intrusion can quickly escalate, and once data is encrypted and/or stolen, the costs snowball – as much as 1,000 times higher than if an incident is not detected and contained early. The difference between a €20,000 loss turning into a €20mn one.

Looking forward, detection tools will be the next logical step for most companies to invest in. Ultimately, early detection and effective response capabilities will be key to mitigating the impact of cyber-attacks, as well as ensuring a sustainable cyber insurance market going forward.

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