SA is the leading target in Africa for cyber crime, warns legal firm
SA does not take cyber crime seriously enough although it had the highest number of cyber attacks one year, says law firm Denton SA’s David Loxton
SA had the most cyber attacks in Africa one year, but its private and public sector do not take the threat "seriously enough", says a top law firm. Dentons SA’s David Loxton said on Monday that cyber crime often went unreported and research found it was growing fast. Quoting figures from software security company Symantec, he said that globally in 2015 more than 500-million personal records were stolen or lost and phishing attacks rose 55%. In 2014, South Africa had the most cyber attacks in Africa with losses estimated at about R50bn. There were "shortcomings in the justice system" when it came cyber crime and police "lack resources and specialist skills to take on the complex‚ multijurisdictional investigations". Loxton pointed to lack of laws to prosecute criminals or inadequate law. "For all these reasons‚ prevention is definitely better than cure when it comes to cyber crime. "Companies should be proactive about using technology to protect themselves and at least limit any dama...
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