Ugandan banks lost over $4 million to hackers in the past one year, according to a data released by Interpol Uganda on October 17.
Interpol director Charles Birungi said the theft was carried out via technology and involved bank fraud, fake visa issuance and online business.
Of the $4 million reported, $3 million was recorded in just 10 cases of bank fraud, said the report.
Issuance of fake visas led to the loss of $542,500 while online business fraudsters siphoned $112,441 from users over the same period.
However, traditional cybersecurity measures are being rendered ineffective as cyber attackers devise new and more dangerous ways to pilfer critical data and money.
Cyber experts advise that banks deploy real-time data and analytics to build stronger firewalls in an evidence-based ecosystem.
Intelligence in cyber security involves staying a step ahead of attackers, scouting for malicious leads and analysing them to better secure your data, said Niall MacLeod, director of solutions architecture in Europe, Middle East and Africa at global threat intelligence company Anomali.
The attacks come as snares in the form of file hashes, Internet Protocol links, zip files, execution files, applications. Spear phishing, botnets, malware, ransomware, dedicated denial of service and advanced persistent threat make the cyber security space complex for many banks.
But MacLeod says by use of modern cyber software banks can automatically know when their bank is being attacked, who the adversaries are, and if the attacks have been successful.
Ugandan banks will have to commit more money to budgets towards securing their system firewalls and hiring experts in an era where ransomware is becoming a notorious way of bank theft.
Copyright 2021 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
