Rising Cybercrime Targets South African Banks, Social Well-Being

Cyber-attacks are on the rise globally, with seriously negative implications for countries' strategic, national, economic and social well-being, writes Basie Von Solms for The Conversation.

A cyber-attack can be defined as an unauthorised attempt - successful or not - to infiltrate a computer or computer system for malicious purposes. Reasons for such attacks vary from financial gain to espionage, gathering strategic and national information.

According to Daily Maverick, South Africa is ranked as having the third-highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide - something that costs the country U.S.$128 million a year. Since 2020, many businesses have inadvertently opened the door to the murky world of cybercrime by boosting their online presence.

The South African Reserve Bank has identified cybercrime and emerging technologies as growing threats to South Africa's banking sector, Albert Nangara of The Exchange wrote. In its report, the reserve bank said threats including internet and mobile banking platforms, may be exploited to facilitate money-laundering and fund terrorism.