Ethiopia’s Information Network Security Agencyc (INSA) said it has thwarted more than 1600 cyber attacks during the first quarter of the current Ethiopian fiscal year which began on July 8. 2022.
“Ethiopia has been a subject of a growing cyber attack in recent years, Director General of INSA, Solomon Kassa said on Tuesday noting that the over 1600 cyber-attack attempts had targeted key institutions in east African nation
“The cyber-attack attempts were mainly made against power plants and distribution stations, hospitals, telecom infrastructures, air traffic control systems, financial and academic institutions,” said Kassa speaking in a relevant meeting.
Increasing dependency on technology coupled with the low level of awareness about cyber security contributing to the growing cyberattacks in Ethiopia, he said.
According to INSA, hackers are increasingly using Deepfake and Social engineering techniques in their attacks in recent years both in Ethiopia and globally.
Hackers often use Social Engineering to exploit human error to gain private information or access, and Deepfake to create new identities and steal the identities of real people.
The intelligence agency said most of the cyber-attacks targeting Ethiopia were thwarted before they could cause any significant harm.
The agency has recently been working to boost its capacity to protect Ethiopian cyber sovereignty attacks along with ensuring the country’s technology ownership.
However, it has to be complemented by increased awareness of the public about cyber security, said Kassa.
The cyber security month, being held under a theme, “Integrated Cyber Security for National Sovereignty’, aims at raising the cyber security consciousness of citizens in a sustainable manner.
MG/abj/APA