African mining and energy sectors need improved cyber security

Africa is heavily inundated by cyber attacks, with big industries often being the most targeted for cyber crimes. According to the World Economic Forum, Africa needs to take urgent action to address cyber security threats. The mining and energy sectors are in need of a cyber security revamp if they are to protect themselves against these threats and attract foreign investment.

In today’s global financial markets, investors are looking for resilient cyber security; poor cyber resilience means organisations become easy targets for criminals. In the African mining and energy sectors, enterprises are still unprepared for attacks. Efforts should be made to improve cyber security and employee awareness.

Mining and energy sectors need to upgrade their cyber resilience

The mining and energy industries are an attractive target for phishing attempts. Just clicking on one malicious link can lead to a full scale ransomware attack, as we saw in the devastating attacks on a U.S. energy provider just a couple of years ago.

In May 2021, a major ransomware attack targeted the Colonial Pipeline – one of the largest fuel pipelines in the U.S. The attack was carried out by a criminal group known as DarkSide and resulted in the shutdown of the pipeline, which transports gasoline and other fuels from Texas to the East Coast of the continent. The shutdown caused panic buying and fuel shortages in several states, which led to long lines at gas stations.

The attackers demanded a ransom of almost R80 million ($4.4 million) in exchange for the decryption key that would unlock the pipeline's data. The pipeline's operator, Colonial Pipeline Company, paid the ransom, although it is unclear how much was paid.

The incident highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber attacks and the potential for significant disruption to the economy and society. Similar attacks could be carried out against South African energy or mining companies.

Why mining and energy companies need cyber security

Given the importance of cyber security in today’s threat landscape, the African mining energy sectors need improved cyber security for several reasons, including:

• Increasing cyber threats - As the world becomes increasingly digitised, cyber threats such as hacking, data breaches and cyber-espionage are on the rise. The mining and energy sectors are particularly vulnerable because they are critical infrastructure and have valuable data and intellectual property.
• Financial implications - Cyber attacks can have severe financial implications for the mining and energy sectors. A successful attack can lead to costly downtime, lost production and damage to critical infrastructure, which can be expensive to repair.
• Compliance requirements - The mining and energy sectors are subject to a range of regulations and compliance requirements, including data privacy laws and industry-specific regulations. Improved cyber security is necessary to meet these requirements and avoid regulatory fines.
• Reputation and brand damage - A successful cyber attack can damage a company's reputation and brand. Customers and investors may lose trust in the company's ability to protect their data and critical infrastructure.
• National security - The mining and energy sectors are critical infrastructure that are essential for national security. A cyber attack that disrupts these sectors can have significant national security implications.

Changing landscape of cyber security

Big Data plays a pivotal role in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). By embracing these data innovations, large enterprises in the mining and energy sectors can secure their place in the 4IR. As technology advances, so does the risk surrounding it. In order to protect themselves from cyber attacks in a world where data is critical, large industries need to make sure one of their most valuable assets (their data) stays safe and secure.

With big data come big challenges. Cyber attacks on large industries, like mining and energy, are growing in sophistication and frequency but they are not the only way that companies can be compromised. The danger of loss of data due to human error is highly likely without the proper cyber security measures in place.

The solutions lie in improved endpoint protection from viruses, malware and other cyber threats, as well as advanced security and information management systems and robust ransomware protection. Cyber security has become a major issue for enterprises all over the globe as attacks are growing in frequency and complexity and Africa is a growing target.

With the number of attacks increasing all the time, it is clear that enterprises need to take action to protect their data before it's too late. This means taking preventative measures like implementing better endpoint protection software, SIEM and other cyber security solutions.

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