NEWS
Kaspersky highlights cyber security trends at Connected Banking East Africa Summit
Participating in the Connected Banking
East Africa Summit 2025, that took place on 12 March in Nairobi, Kenya, Kaspersky has underlined the need for an active cybersecurity strategy and a stage-by-stage cybersecurity approach in the financial industry. The company’ s experts talked about the trends in the financial sector that pose cybersecurity risks and should be kept in mind by IT specialists, including AIpowered automation, open banking, cloudbased banking, regulatory technology, and digital currencies.
Kaspersky’ s latest threat intelligence data underscores the rising frequency and sophistication of cyber threats: in 2024, globally 467,000 malicious files were detected by Kaspersky daily, marking a 14 % increase from the previous year.
In Kenya ransomware attacks surged by 19 % in 2024 compared to the previous year, the number of detected exploits rose by 55 % and password stealers’ attacks grew almost 10 %. In this threat landscape, the financial industry, undergoing rapid digitisation, remains one of the most targeted sectors for cyberattacks.
Another reality is that the crimeware ecosystem has become increasingly dynamic and adaptable, with affiliates adopting a“ multi-platform” approach. Cyber attackers spread their operations across regions. For example, Kaspersky warned of the Grandoreiro banking trojan expanding from Latin America to Asia and Africa.
In 2024, the threat targeted more than 1,700 financial institutions and 276 cryptocurrency wallets across 45 countries and territories. Among countries affected in Africa were Kenya, along with Algeria, Angola, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
“ The finance sector’ s inherent value and rapid digitisation make this sector one of the prime targets for cybercriminals. Breaches in the financial sector are considered the world’ s second costliest after the healthcare industry,” said Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Client Lead at Kaspersky in Africa.
Bethwel Opil
Vertiv stages AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow at Johannesburg
Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, has announced that its highly anticipated AI
Wojtek Piorko
Solutions Innovation Roadshow will make its next stop in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Roadshow, scheduled to take place at The Venue Green Park in Sandton, is part of a global series of events designed to educate and equip customers and consultants with essential expertise for deploying highperformance computing, HPC and Artificial Intelligence, AI infrastructure.
Vertiv experts will introduce the key infrastructure imperatives to enable AI, sharing insights on key challenges and opportunities and providing participants with a deep understanding of the latest innovations supporting HPC infrastructure, as well as the impact on data centre power and cooling systems.
Wojtek Piorko, MD, Africa at Vertiv, said:“ This event series marks our dedication to actively support the local data centre and AI market, and is the first of several we will be rolling out across Africa. With the incremental influence of AI and HPC on our industry, we understand the critical need to support our customers and partners with insights and technology that drive their success.”
The Vertiv AI Solutions Innovation Roadshow emphasises the essential aspects for adopting AI-compatible infrastructure and service to maintain operational excellence. Discussions will explore power optimisation for AI workloads, alternative energy solutions, and readiness for liquid and hybrid cooling technologies.
Vertiv speakers for the Johannesburg event included Piorko, as well as Jon Abbott, EMEA Technologies Director, Colocation and Hyperscale; Jonathan Duncan, Application Engineering and Technical Solutions Director – Africa; and Haroun De Almeida, AC Power Technical Solutions Manager.
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