AfriPulse
Nigerian organizations are now battling the highest average volume of weekly cyberattacks across the entire African continent, according to the alarming data released in the African Perspectives on Cyber Security Report 2025 by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.
The comprehensive study, published by the cybersecurity solutions provider, reveals that Nigerian firms are experiencing an average of 4,200 attacks per week. This figure is not only significantly higher than the African average of 3,153 weekly attacks but also sits a staggering 60 per cent above the global average of 1,963 attacks per organization. The surge across the continent is largely attributed to the proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled threats.
AI Automates and Scales Intrusions
The report explicitly connects the sharp rise in attack sophistication to the malicious use of AI. Kingsley Oseghale, Check Point’s Country Manager for West Africa, explained how threat actors are leveraging these tools to scale their efforts.
“AI has become part of the attack surface,” Oseghale said. “Attackers are using it to automate phishing and identity theft at scale. The only effective response is prevention-first security that combines visibility, governance, and AI protection.”
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Cybercriminals are specifically exploiting exposed identities and misconfigured systems to target critical economic sectors, including finance, energy, telecommunications, and government bodies. The major trends identified include a spike in identity-led intrusions, sophisticated AI-generated phishing campaigns, and multi-vector ransomware attacks.
Diverse Threats Across the Continent
While Nigeria grapples heavily with business email compromise and cloud exploitation, Check Point observed distinct cyber trends in other major African markets:
South Africa is contending with rising ransomware, smishing (SMS phishing), and large-scale botnet infections like Vo1d and XorDDoS.
Kenya has seen targeted ransomware attacks aimed at its critical energy infrastructure.
Morocco experienced coordinated disruptions against government and education sectors via Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) and website defacement attacks.
The 2025 report highlights five major shifts fundamentally reshaping Africa’s cyber risk landscape. Among these shifts, traditional ransomware has evolved into data-leak extortion, AI-generated deception is now widespread, and identity itself has emerged as the new security perimeter. Crucially, the report warned that weak cybersecurity now affects international commerce, with regulations like the EU’s NIS2 Directive potentially affecting international market access, turning digital resilience into an essential economic requirement.
The study strongly urged African governments and businesses to immediately adopt “prevention-first” security strategies, emphasizing the need for continuous risk assessment, preparedness for global regulatory shifts, and stronger public-private collaboration.
Oseghale concluded by stressing that the transition to an AI-driven economy requires a proactive security posture, emphasizing the human element of the digital transformation. “The real challenge is not adopting new technology but securing the trust that underpins it,” he stated.
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