Kaspersky warning about online piracy in South Africa

[mylesillidge]

Top security company has a warning for online pirates in South Africa

Cybercriminals employ unique tactics in Africa, including South Africa, such as infecting people with specific types of malware and spyware through pirated software downloads.

This is according to Maher Yamout, lead security researcher at Kaspersky's global research and analysis team (GReAT), who said the problem was becoming prevalent in 2025.

 

[Sargeant]

Cry me a river!

 

[Brian_G]

This one seems to be about business software use, not TV piracy.

While more recent research is scarce, studies over the past decade indicate that around 30–37% of software installed in South Africa is pirated.

This is significantly lower than continental averages, with countries such as Nigeria and Kenya reporting that more than 70% of installed software is unlicensed.

South African intellectual property lawyer Darren Olivier said that businesses may not even be aware that their staff were using unlicensed software.

“This makes the business more vulnerable to cyber-attacks because unlicensed software is not patched with the latest security updates, which increases the likelihood of malware entering the network,” he said.

“Should that malware expose sensitive company and client information, the reputational damage could be massive.”