A cybersecurity awareness survey conducted in Africa by cybersecurity awareness and training solutions company KnowBe4 Africa has found that nearly 50% of respondents will continue to work from home going forward. 

Further, 24% of respondents said they were affected by cybercrime while working from home and 30% said their governments prioritised cybersecurity in policies.

The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how people live, work and approach security, says KnowBe4 Africa content strategy senior VP Anna Collard.

The survey garnered responses from 881 people across South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritius and Botswana and was aimed at discovering how the continent views cybersecurity and its risks in a world shaped by a global pandemic, she says.

"The report found that attitudes and behaviours have shifted as a result of the pandemic, but problematic pockets of risk remain that need to be addressed to ensure both business and individual security. Respondents who indicated they were concerned about cybercrime increased to 47.61%.

"Across all eight countries, there is a growing awareness of the risks that come with cybercrime. However, people are still taking unnecessary risks,” highlights Collard.

Only 46% of the respondents could define ransomware, nearly 20% have forwarded a spam or hoax email, 30% have clicked on a phishing email, 33.41% have fallen for a con artist or a scam, and 52.7% have had a virus on their home device.

“There is a need for training and education, especially considering that 40% of respondents think they would comfortably recognise a security threat if they saw one, despite only 31.5% of respondents in South Africa being able to define a Trojan,” says Collard.

“Most people do not know what a risky email looks like or how their actions could result in their systems becoming infected.”

Email security is one of the biggest threats facing the average user, both at work and at home, and it is one of the most common communication methods – nearly 87% use email for work, closely followed by WhatsApp, at 85%.

“For organisations, it has become critical that they train employees on security best practices and the various methodologies used by cybercriminals. People need more help in learning about cyberthreats, especially since 50% are continuing to work from home,” says Collard.