GITEX Africa, Africa’s foremost technology exhibition and networking platform, is set to witness the participation of global tech experts, with cyber protection leader Acronis underscoring the critical role of deploying a comprehensive security and data protection protocol to face escalating ransomware attacks.
With damages predicted to exceed US$30 billion by 2023, Acronis aims to empower enterprises across the continent with region-specific solutions and strategic partnerships. Acronis allows its users to take back control and overcome complexity with an integrated platform, resulting in greater operational efficiency.
Africa’s rapid technological advancements and burgeoning appetite for innovation have positioned it as a crucial growth frontier for technology companies. The annual GITEX Africa showcase, scheduled from May 31 to June 2, 2023, in Marrakech, Morocco, offers international tech giants a unique opportunity to tap into the continent’s untapped digital ecosystem and address the region’s evolving needs.
Acronis, a global leader in cyber protection, has announced its full participation in GITEX Africa, joining over 400 firms from the US, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, in showcasing, alongside its two distributor partners – Ingram Micro North Africa and AITEK – its wide range of cyber protection solutions. As part of its participation, Acronis will also be seeking to develop crucial regional partnerships aimed at helping enterprises in the region make meaningful strides in their digital transformation efforts.
“We are excited to be among the first technology companies to be part of the inaugural GITEX Africa exhibition. From our experience with GITEX Dubai, Africa’s first-ever GITEX showpiece comes at a time when the region is experiencing a heightened digital transformation. This growing trend has, in turn, exposed enterprises to numerous challenges, especially on the cyber protection front.
This is why we have made a deliberate decision to double our efforts in this region by consolidating our presence and cyber protection expertise in key markets, including South Africa, Nigeria, and Rwanda with Kenya and Morocco also in our short-term expansion plan,”
said Peter French, general manager, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Acronis.
Threat landscape
As an emerging economic powerhouse, Morocco has also experienced its fair share of cyber-attacks over the last couple of years recording one of the highest numbers of cyber extortion schemes in Africa, with 69 percent of extortion schemes detected in 2022, according to Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report.
The report also showed that South Africa ranked second after Morocco with 6,560 attacks detected, followed closely by Nigeria with 5,366 cases as cybercriminals deploy sophisticated cyberattacks in the form of malware.
According to Acronis’ End-of-Year Cyberthreats Report, Kenya’s and Nigeria’s financial phishing attempts also rose significantly in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 as banks, online payment systems, and e-commerce platforms became hot targets. The report also cited that over 100,000 financial phishing attacks in Kenya were detected representing a 201 percent increase compared to Q1. On its part, Nigeria reported over 61,000 financial phishing attacks, representing an increase of 79 percent compared to Q1.
Value-adding solutions
As part of its GITEX Africa showcase, Acronis will highlight the recently unveiled Acronis Advanced Security + Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) for Acronis Cyber Protect Cloud. With new capabilities such as AI-based attack analysis, Acronis EDR reduces complexity and simplifies workflows for a more streamlined operation, making it easier than ever for MSPs and the businesses they serve to deploy comprehensive security and data protection. With more organizations turning to MSPs for their backup and security needs and a greater need for simplicity and efficiency, Acronis EDR aims to expand the adoption of advanced security capabilities, helping organizations of all sizes better protect themselves.
