Cyberthreats in South Africa are escalating. For the fourth consecutive year, the Allianz Risk Barometer 2025 ranked cyberthreats as the most significant global business risk, and South Africa is among the top 20 countries where this remains the number one concern.
Every small- to medium-sized enterprise (SME) therefore needs to take cybersecurity seriously across all touchpoints: from employee awareness and internal networks to web hosting.
Cybercrime doesn’t just happen to other companies. It’s a real and immediate danger that can cripple businesses of all sizes.
Here are seven top cyberthreats and how to defend your business against them:
1. Phishing
Phishing involves deceptive attempts to impersonate legitimate companies or services to trick people into clicking on malicious links or revealing sensitive information such as login details or payment data. One careless click can open the door to a hacker, which can lead to losses, downtime and reputational damage.
While phishing e-mails are still common, the rise in artificial intelligence spam filters has pushed cybercriminals to diversify their tactics across multiple platforms utilising AI.
Be on the lookout for:
- Spear phishing: Targeted attacks aimed at specific individuals
- Whaling: Deceptive tactics targeting executives or management with high-level access
- Smishing: Phishing via SMS messages
- Quishing: Fake QR codes on invoices, posters or business cards
- Vishing: Fraudulent phone calls from people posing as IT support, banks or executives
- Angler phishing: Fake social media profiles impersonating businesses
- Evil twin phishing: Rogue Wi-Fi hotspots that mimic legitimate ones
Protect your business:
- Provide ongoing phishing awareness training
- Use e-mail authentication and anti-spam tools
- Set up a virtual private network (VPN) for remote employees
2. Malware, particularly ransomware
Malware refers to malicious software designed to infiltrate, damage or gain unauthorised access to your systems. It often enters through phishing links and includes viruses, worms, spyware, trojans and ransomware. Ransomware is one of the most common types of malware in South Africa. It locks you out of your systems or encrypts your data, with the hackers then demanding payment to restore access.
A ransomware attack can bring your operations to a standstill and causes severe financial and reputational damage. Even paying the ransom doesn’t guarantee data recovery.
Protect your business:
- Backup critical data daily.
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA).
- Restrict access based on employee roles.
- Train staff to spot phishing attempts.
- Choose a hosting provider that offers malware scanning and daily backups.
3. Insider threats
These occur when individuals within your organisation misuse their access, either intentionally or accidentally, to cause harm. This could involve leaking confidential data, falling for phishing scams or having devices compromised. Insider threats are difficult to detect because they come from trusted users with legitimate access. By the time an issue is discovered, significant damage may already have occurred.
Protect your business:
- Conduct regular security audits and training
- Foster a positive and transparent workplace culture
- Implement strict offboarding procedures for departing employees
- Use monitoring tools to detect unusual login or access patterns
4. DDoS attacks
A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack overwhelms your server or network with excessive fake traffic, causing your website or services to slow down or crash. This downtime leads to frustrated customers, lost revenue and damaged trust. In many cases DDoS attacks serve as distractions to launch larger breaches.
Protect your business:
- Choose a hosting provider with DDoS mitigation and traffic filtering
- Use content delivery networks (CDNs) to distribute traffic loads efficiently
5. Supply chain vulnerabilities
These arise when a third-party vendor, software or hardware provider with access to your systems is compromised, thereby giving attackers indirect access to your network. Just one weak link in your security chain can have devastating effects. These breaches often go undetected for long periods, giving cybercriminals time to exploit vulnerabilities.
Protect your business:
- Limit third-party access to only what’s necessary.
- Enforce strong passwords and MFA.
- Partner only with reputable vendors who prioritise cybersecurity.
6. Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks
A MitM attack occurs when cybercriminals intercept and manipulate communication between two parties (that is, between a user and a website) to steal sensitive data or alter information in transit. MitM attacks are hard to detect. Often, companies or individuals only realise they’ve been targeted when the fraud or identity theft has been revealed.
Protect your business:
- Always use HTTPS and valid SSL certificates on your website
- Avoid conducting business on public Wi-Fi
- Enable end-to-end encryption for communications
- Verify any banking detail changes via a phone call or official documentation
- Choose a secure hosting provider with SSL certificate support
7. Domain hijacking
Domain hijacking occurs when attackers gain unauthorised control of your domain name, often through stolen credentials or weaknesses in registrar accounts. Losing your domain means losing your digital identity. Attackers can take over your website and e-mails, redirect customers, steal sensitive data and impersonate your brand.
Protect your business:
- Register your domain with a trusted domain registrar
- Enable domain lock to prevent unauthorised transfers
- Use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication for your domain account
At Domains.co.za we prioritise your security. Our domain name and web hosting services come with built-in safety measures, SSL certificates and data protection protocols to help keep your business – and your customers – safe online.
About Domains.co.za
Domains.co.za is a pioneer in the domain name and web hosting industry in South Africa. As an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers-accredited registrar, the company offers the best in web hosting solutions including incredibly fast, secure and reliable cPanel web hosting, WordPress hosting and the recently launched Managed cPanel VM hosting. Try the new AI domain name generator and value-added services like SSLs, antivirus and site builder. With a focus on innovation and customer satisfaction, Domains.co.za continues to deliver industry-firsts to the benefit of local start-ups, entrepreneurs, SMEs and companies. Follow Domains.co.za on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.
