Rabat – Internet users in Morocco rank 15th on a list of populations facing online infection in the first 10 months of 2023, according to a new report from Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky.
The report which reveals major global cybersecurity trends shows that 19.5% of internet users in Morocco ran the rest of cyber infections – a type of malware that typically infiltrates a user’s device without their knowledge, often because it camouflages itself as a different file type such as an image or PDF file.
On the list of countries where users are most exposed to online infection, Taiwan came first with 24.4% of users at risk of facing the malware, followed by Greece at 24.1%, and Belarus at 22.6%.
On the North African level, Morocco is the third most exposed. Algeria claimed the highest ranking with 22.6% of its population exposed to the malware, followed by Tunisia at nearly 21.2%.
The Kaspersky report shows that over the first 10 months of 2023, ransomware Trojans attacked over 193,000 unique users, including 53,000 corporate users and 6,000 users associated with small and medium-sized businesses.
Trojans are a type of malware code or software that can take control of a user’s computer. It’s designed to harm a device by disrupting, stealing, or causing other damaging actions to data or networks.
An earlier report indicated that, on the continental level, Morocco was the most exposed country to banking trojans and cyber extortion schemes in 2022.
Released in April, the African Cyberthreat Assessment Report indicated that 18,827 detected attacks were traced back to the North African country.
The country was equally exposed to the highest number of online extortion schemes at 69%.
South Africa emerged as the prime target for ransomware assaults in the continent with a staggering 42% share, while Morocco stood at 8%, alongside Botswana and Egypt at 6%.
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