Not all cybercrimes are targeted at money… Unfortunately some hackers are not interested in monetary gain again. They just want to steal your data to prove that they can. They simply want to prove to themselves or their hacker friends that they can break pass your defenses…funny right? Just as there are different types of hackers, their methods and strategies also differ, and so do their motivation. Some hackers just aim at making one’s life miserable and other hackers just want to be seen and heard. To some, it’s a way of showcasing their intelligence to the world.  This brings us to the question “what does a hacker actually want?” To Steal Infrastructure A hacker will want to have access to computing resources and not pay for them. So in this instance, he launches an attack that is designed to steal such resource. When this is done, it allows him take control of the storage, files and other resources owned by someone else. He sometimes does this to host a website for himself or even run ads. He does all that for his personal growth, not for the money.  To Deny Service Why would anyone want to deny service to the general public? It might be simply because they can, or just to cause harm. In October 2016, there was a distributed denial-of-service attack launched against the domain name system provider. This attack caused major internet platforms and services to be available to a number of users in the world. For a couple hours, high-profile websites like Esty, Github, Spotify and Twitter suffered service interruptions and altogether went offline.  The hackers that carried out this malicious act obviously didn’t do it to gain money, they only did because they wanted to prove their intelligence and also to deny service to people. To gain Political Relevance Hackers use hacking to make a political statement or promote social change. They steal embarrassing information from a victim company, cause operational issues for the company or wreck a havoc

It is no news that cyber security is essential in the world of information technology, application development is no exemption. Virtually every activity done in the world today can be done with mobile devices: banking, commerce, entertainment, teaching and lots more. Various app development companies have helped provide growth opportunities for businesses, helping them build strong customer relationship by building conveniences. Nonetheless, this extreme growth has been reduced drastically by frequent inherent security risk. In recent times, there has been increasing cases of data breaches owing to insecure mobile application development. Many mobile applications are now targets to hackers and so, mobile application developers have no choice than to focus on cyber security as much as it does on flexibility and functionality.  Every mobile app developer must focus on cyber security so much during development to keep the organization a step ahead of cyber threats. This in turn, improves the return on investment in the apps. A compromised mobile app gives intruders access to sensitive data assets or even the ability to take users online. It allows the attackers to exploit the application platform’s operating system to steal authentication information for later attack on the system. Developers can avoid these problems by considering cyber security through every step of their mobile app development.    During development, manual and automated scanning should be applied to identify common security weaknesses. The low code/no code development software can help especially when creating task-based apps for small businesses web apps, analytics app and transaction system. This software streamline security verification process by ensuring that security code integration with a system takes place early in the development cycle with frequent updates. Mobile application developers should test the effectiveness and security of their mobile apps well before they

What is Critical Infrastructure?  Critical Infrastructure is an asset or system which is essential for producing vital economic and social functions i.e. health, food, security, financial services, information services, transport, etc. Critical infrastructures are vital assets for economic welfare and national securities. Infrastructure such as electricity distribution, water supply, telecommunication and transport all depend on IT (information technology) systems for management and control. The new reality is that almost all critical infrastructures operate in a digital environment and the vulnerability of information technology has not failed to evolve alongside information technology itself. The current cyber attacker looks for vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure system in order to obtain relevant information, take entire control of an organization’s activities and, worst of all, paralyze or end the activity.  Therefore security and protection measures must become top priority in a constantly evolving and interconnected environment.  The question remains how to protect the information contained in these infrastructures from cyber attacks bearing it in mind that they are open to attacks which might cause heinous effects.    Cyber attacks on critical infrastructure have reached all corners of the globe. One of the high profile cases is the colonial pipeline shutdown in the New York in the United States of America. This ransom ware attack froze the flow of 2.5 million barrels of oil product in May 2021. Africa is not excluded from these attacks as well. We recorded over 2 million phishing attacks in the first half of 2021 and over 393 cases were attributed to Nigeria. The rectification of these attacks cost each of these affected regions a lot of money including payment using crypto currency. This brings to mind that the more attacks we face, the more we spend hence a decrease in economic growth. Some of the areas of cyberse

I know you’re very familiar with the word “hacking.” But did you also know that hackers are very important to any business organization? They play very crucial role in the safety and security of any nation. Actually, a lot of companies will pay through their nose to hire the best hackers to work for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if you argue with the second sentence of this article because I would also think the same if I never read about the White Hacker.  The White hat hacker is an ethical security hacker whose aim is to identify vulnerabilities in the current system of any platform where the owner has given his consent to do so. While white hat hackers have good intentions but black hat hackers would gain access without being authorized in order to exploit and do away with relevant information in a system or device. More often than not, black hat hackers introduce risk and cause damages to systems and computers of organizations.  Hacking can be traced back to 1970 when governments and companies set up a team known then as   “tiger teams.” Their activities were aimed at discovering vulnerabilities in telecom and computing systems. They were the first ethical hackers, otherwise known as the White hat hackers.  In the 1980s and 1990s when personal computers were gradually becoming common and accessible, hacking became a global perception. It was at this point that there was disparity between a white and a black hacker.  Demystifying White and Black Hackers Since the definition of hacking is to gain access to data in a computer or online account, the ethical hacker and the unauthorized hackers are both hackers and guess what? They both get paid to hack. But while the activities of a black hat hacker are illegal, it’s a noble job for the White hat hacker. Maybe you’re thinking you could venture into black hacking since you also get paid just like a White hacker. But before you go into black hat hacking, I think you should read this

Yesterday, we talked about some of the known attacks an internet user will mostly encounter when using the internet, opening our eyes to the different methods the attackers implore to carry out their malicious activities.  One thing I realized is that, in these problems lie the solution as well. Are you wondering how? Read this short story… Few months ago, I was going through my mail, when I stumbled on this particular mail that had a picture attached to it. The content of the mail was so fascinating that I really wanted to see what was in there in the image and just as you are thinking already, I clicked on the image but it was taking longer time to display. I kept trying and trying but it wouldn’t just open, I felt so heartbroken but I needed to continue my work so I left it and went back to what I was doing. But guess what, after some hours a lot of mails started popping up and on opening them I saw that somebody else has gained access to my files, an intruder, a HACKER. I don’t have to finish up my short story because you already know what happened next, but I’ll be sharing here with you what I did after wards to ensure I never had such an experience again. Here are some of the steps you can take to have an intruder-free cyber experience. Back up your data: backing up your business data should be a major duty to every business owner. It is very essential that you back up your most important data using multiple back up method to ensure that your files are properly secured in case you experience a cyber attack. You could back up your data with an external drive, portable device or through a cloud storage solution.  Ensure you do this regularly and always go back to check and test that you can restore your data from your back up. Install security software: Security software that include anti-virus, anti-spyware and anti-spam filters are strongly recommended for business computers and devices to prevent malware attack. Create a firewall: Have you ev

With so much benefits and advantages coming from the internet through technology, it can be disheartening to think that behind every device or even platform, there are threats lurking around. And just like the saying ‘’to every action, there is equal or opposite reaction”, the presence of these threats has brought about Cyber security in and around our world.  For the purpose of today’s article, we will be looking at what cyber security is and the different threats that we come across on a daily basis. What is Cyber Security? Cyber security refers to a body of technologies, processes and practices designed to prevent an attack, damage or unauthorized access to networks, devices, programs and data by vile actors such as hackers or spammers. Cyber Security is also defined as the practice of protecting systems, networks and programs from digital attacks according to ‘Cisco Systems’.  Cyber threats on the other hand is an unauthorized invasion by a third party into a network access which can result in data loss or data manipulation. It is an attack or intrusion by means of a computer network for the purpose of spying. The person who carries out such attack is known as a HACKER. Some common list of cyber threats incudes: Malware Attacks: A malware attack is a cyber attack where malware performs unauthorized actions on a user’s system. This form of cyber threat is usually spread by malicious websites downloads, spam emails or connecting to infected computers. It is the second most significant hazard to businesses. The victims of this attack are usually small businesses. Malware covers a wide range of cyber threats including Trojans and viruses. So if you’re a small business owner you might want to lookout for this. Insider Threats: Also rampant in small businesses. As the name implies, it is carried out by an individual within the organization. These acts are stirred up because of greed, malice or carelessness.  Botnet Attacks:  This attack invol