Comparing Cyber Risk between the United States and Nigeria

As our lives become increasingly integrated with the internet and technology cyber security is becoming a worldwide problem. There are multiple attacks launched on individuals, governments, and businesses every day. These attacks can lead to the loss of billons of dollars each year from country to country. Today we will look at the differences in cybersecurity risk between the United States and Nigeria.

The United States is targeted the most by Phishing attacks, we are hit with sixty percent of worldwide phishing attacks. Phishing is the act of sending fraudulent emails pretending to be from a legitimate organization with the intent to persuade individuals to provide personal and sensitive information. Cyberattacks limited to phishing in the United States added up to fifty-four million dollars 2020. 2020 was not just the year of immune system vulnerabilities, but cyber vulnerabilities as well. The Covid-19 pandemic was a catalyst for an increase in these attacks.

Even though phishing is a top cyberthreat in the United States, that is not the case for Nigeria. In Nigeria advance fee fraud schemes are at the top of the list, not phishing. An Advance fee fraud scheme is the act of contacting an individual via email with a proposal. Some proposals include promises of romantic partnership, stocks, substantial amounts of money, or other rewards. However, before the reward can be access a payment is required to be sent to the fraudulent party. Often the reward is never honored, and the attacker can carry the victim along for period. Advance fee fraud cost $83,215,405 and romantic fraud losses totaled 51,039,922 in Nigeria 2020. Just like in America, the pandemic left the door open for an increase in attacks. According to the Internet Crime Complaint Centre of the Federal Bureau of Investigation cybercriminals also targeted the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. Even though countries my differ in the attacks that they are primarily susceptible to the motivators for these crimes can often be similar.

References

Gates, M. (2021, March 19). $4.2 Billion Lost in the U.S. to Cybercrime and Fraud in 2020. Today in Security. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2021/march/americans-report-42-billion-lost-to-cybercrime-and-fraud-in-2020/#:~:text=Americans%20also%20reported%20high%20amounts%20of%20phishing%20scams,freeze%20%24380%20million%20from%20being%20transferred%20to%20fraudsters.

Adepegba, A. (2021, March 18). How Nigeria, US, 19 others lost over $4.1bn to cyber fraud in 2020 -FBI. punchng.com. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://punchng.com/how-nigeria-us-19-others-lost-over-4-1b-to-cyber-fraud-business-scam-in-2020-fbi/#:~:text=Nigerians%2C%20Americans%2C%20Britons%2C%20and%20citizens%20of%2018%20other,email%20compromise%2C%20and%20other%20fraudulent%20activities%20in%202020.

Gates, M. (2021, March 19). $4.2 Billion Lost in the U.S. to Cybercrime and Fraud in 2020. Today in Security. Retrieved September 24, 2022, from https://www.asisonline.org/security-management-magazine/latest-news/today-in-security/2021/march/americans-report-42-billion-lost-to-cybercrime-and-fraud-in-2020/#:~:text=Americans%20also%20reported%20high%20amounts%20of%20phishing%20scams,freeze%20%24380%20million%20from%20being%20transferred%20to%20fraudsters.