Africa Hit Hardest as Global Cyberattacks Increase by 30%

The world has experienced a noticeable surge in cybersecurity incidents, with a 30% global increase in the second quarter of 2024. Africa has been particularly hard hit, recording the highest number of attacks per organisation, with an average of 2,960 weekly attacks up 37% from the previous year.

Hotspots of Cyber Activity

In Africa, the focus of cyber activity was notably high in South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. South Africa reported around 1,450 attacks per organisation each week, showing a slight 4% increase compared to the previous year.

Despite being the epicenter for malware such as Qbot and FakeUpdates (SocGholish), Africa saw a silver lining with a 55% drop in ransomware attacks, representing just 1% of global occurrences in this category.

Understanding the Underlying Causes

Experts have pointed out that the increase in cyber attacks is largely due to more businesses adopting digital technologies and cybercriminals using advanced methods, including artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) also stated that more digital activities have led to higher cybersecurity risks.

Enhanced digitalisation has expanded the attack surface, increasing vulnerabilities across various sectors.