Nigeria Tops Africa in Cyberattacks: A Wake-Up Call for Businesses

Nigerian organizations are facing an unprecedented level of cyberattacks, with an average of 4,200 attacks per week, according to the African Perspectives on Cyber Security Report 2025 by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. This is significantly higher than the continental average of 3,153 and 60% above the global average of 1,963 attacks per organization

The report highlights a sharp rise in attacks across Africa, driven largely by artificial intelligence-enabled threats. Attackers are increasingly using AI to automate phishing, impersonation, and cloud exploitation, making it essential for businesses to adopt prevention-first security measures that combine visibility, governance, and AI protection .

The report identifies several key trends in cyberattacks across Africa, including:

Business Email Compromise Nigeria is experiencing a high volume of business email compromise and cloud exploitation attacks.
Ransomware South Africa is facing rising ransomware, smishing, and botnet infections.
Critical Infrastructure :Kenya has seen ransomware targeting critical energy infrastructure.
DDoS and Website Defacement: Morocco has experienced coordinated government and education-sector disruptions via DDoS and website defacement attacks .

The report highlights five major shifts shaping Africa’s cyber risk in 2025, including:

Traditional Ransomware: Evolving into data-leak extortion.
AI-Generated Deception: Widespread use of AI-generated deception.
Identity: Emerging as the new security perimeter.
Weak Cybersecurity:Can affect international market access under regulations such as the EU’s NIS2 Directive

The increasing number of cyberattacks in Nigeria and Africa is a wake-up call for businesses to prioritize cybersecurity. With the rising use of AI-enabled threats, it’s essential to adopt prevention-first security measures that combine visibility, governance, and AI protection.