As banks beef up their security perimeters, criminals are now devising methods to beat banks’ own authentication protocols, quickly and effectively exfiltrating funds. Two particularly concerning modes of attack have emerged: bank identity number (BIN) scan attacks and distributed denial of service (DDoS) assaults orchestrated to hide targeted attacks. BIN scan attacks represent a strategy…
Kerissa Varma Companies in South Africa and around the world must make better use of artificial intelligence if they’re to fend off malicious actors who are themselves harnessing AI to intensify their cyberattacks. That’s according to Kerissa Varma, chief cybersecurity adviser for Microsoft in Africa, who was unpacking the findings of the 2025 edition of…
LYON — Operation targeted romance scams and sextortion in 14 African countries Authorities in 14 African countries have arrested 260 suspects and seized 1,235 electronic devices in a coordinated international operation against cyber-enabled crime. The crackdown targeted transnational criminal networks exploiting digital platforms, particularly social media, to manipulate victims and defraud them financially. Specifically, the…
Lyon, France — In a sweeping INTERPOL-coordinated operation, authorities across Africa have arrested 1,209 cybercriminals targeting nearly 88,000 victims. The crackdown recovered USD 97.4 million and dismantled 11,432 malicious infrastructures, underscoring the global reach of cybercrime and the urgent need for cross-border cooperation. Operation Serengeti 2.0 (June to August 2025) brought together investigators from 18…
