Today's Bulletin: February 15, 2025

More results...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Filter by Categories
Africacom
AfricaCom 2024
AI
Apps
Apps
Banking
Broadcast
CABSAT
Cabsat
Cloud
Column
Content
Corona
DTT
eCommerce
Editorial
Education
Entertainment
Events
Fintech
Fixed
Gitex
Gitex Africa
GSMA Cape Town
Healthcare
IBC
Industry Voices
Infrastructure
IoT
MNVO Nation Africa
Mobile
Mobile Payments
Music
MWC Barcelona
MWC Barcelona 2025
MWC Kigali
News
Online
Opinion Piece
Q&A
Satellite
Security
Software
Startups
Streaming
Technology
TechTalks
TechTalkThursday
Telecoms
Utilities
Video Interview
Follow us

KnowBe4 Africa Warns Against Rising Cyberattacks

September 30, 2021
4 min read
Author: Editorial Team

It’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month at a time when cybersecurity awareness should be on everyone’s mind. The risk of attack has soared, according to Atlas VPN – 45% of organisations globally were impacted by recurring cyberattacks, malware up by 358%, and ransomware by 435%. Anna Collard, SVP of content and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, warns that social engineering is consistently the number one root cause used by ransomware and other malware attacks to gain initial access.

It has become absolutely critical to manage human risks effectively as it’s still the top attack vector used by cybercriminals.

“There are ways of mitigating the human risk factor and engaging with your employees on a deeper level. Approach the training with sensitivity, ensure that your people are engaged, and that their concerns are recognised.”

Anna Collard, SVP of Content and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa

While simulated phishing campaigns are very effective in educating staff about phishing, a common mistake made by companies as they embark on these campaigns is to use topics that are sensitive or can cause upset. While scammers will use topics such as a fake bonus or lay-offs very successfully in their campaigns, it’s not a good idea to use them as part of the training.

“People don’t react well to this kind of campaign and often this can backfire on the company. The best way to tackle sensitive phishing topics is to provide people with the tools they need to recognise potential attacks, and, perhaps most importantly, ensure that your employees are happy. Happy and responsible people are the best protection, so work towards creating this kind of culture to achieve long-term security success.”

Anna Collard, SVP of Content and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa

Another key approach is to ask people for feedback after training sessions, and to use that feedback. Use the stick and the carrot approach rather than the terrify and torment one. If you combine negative incentives with positive ones, then people are more inclined to work towards a culture of security. This is further reflected by leadership. It’s important to get executive involvement that goes beyond sponsorship. You want your leaders to become the faces of your cybersecurity campaigns, and to walk the proverbial talk.

“People look to what their leaders are doing, so get a video clip of your senior team leaders sharing why security is important, or undertaking a phishing training course, to show that they are as committed to this as anyone else. Add to this personal involvement by ensuring that you pull in all teams and silos. Work with marketing, internal comms teams, HR, and every other business department to create a comprehensive and holistic security culture.”

Anna Collard, SVP of Content and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa

Another critical point is to ensure that you start off your campaign with a clear baseline. You can’t manage what you can’t measure so create a baseline view of your current security status quo by running a proficiency or security culture assessment and track this annually. This will help you to showcase improvements, and manage training more effectively. Finally, make everything fun, especially now.

“People are tired, burned out and living online, so don’t make your cybersecurity awareness campaign boring, tedious and time consuming. Make it beautiful. Ensure that communications are seamless, that content is meaningful, and that every part of the campaign is worthy of engagement. And be human. Emotions are a powerful engagement technique, so use them in your content. Tell stories, use humour, and remember that, above all else, your employees are people first.”

Anna Collard, SVP of Content and Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa
Follow us on LinkedIn

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our weekly newsletter and get the latest industry insights right in your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for sign up!