And while South Africa has yet to experience a truly devastating attack, it’s certainly not immune to them. If the country is to protect its critical infrastructure , it needs an integrated approach that brings together various arms of the state and makes use of the latest tactics in attack prevention as well as response.
In the UK, meanwhile, an IT supplier to the country’s National Health Service fell victim to a ransomware attack in 2022. As a result, several important functions – including patient referrals, ambulance dispatch, out-of-hours appointment bookings, mental health services and emergency prescriptions – were affected.Even smaller players on the world map aren’t immune to such attacks. In mid-2022, for instance, Estonia was the victim of its most intense cyberattack since 2007.
But what can the state and private sector players charged with running and maintaining critical infrastructure do to ensure that it’s as safe as possible? While there are no simple answers, an integrated approach is key. Another area where integration is particularly important is intelligence. If state departments, organisations, and those in the private sector are able to seamlessly share intelligence around the kinds of threats they face, then building proper defences becomes much easier.Of course, in a world where cyberattacks should be viewed as a matter of “when, not if”, an integrated response plan is also needed.