According to a new industry assessment, it has been claimed that Nigeria’s new position as the African country with the highest number of weekly cyber-attacks per organisation has been linked to exposed identities, misconfigured systems, and the growing use of artificial intelligence by threat actors.
The Cyber Security report 2025 on African Perspectives, released by Check Point Software Technologies, shows that Nigerian organisations now encounter an average of 4,200 attempted intrusions each week. The number as stated is higher than the continental average of over 2,153 and 60 per cent above the global baseline of 1,963 attacks per organisation per week.
The report, however, stated that critical sectors, including finance, energy, telecoms, and government, are being targeted through identity-led intrusions, AI-generated phishing campaigns, and multi-vector ransomware.
Again, it has been stated that the attackers are taking advantage of improperly configured cloud systems and exposed credentials, with Business Email Compromise and cloud exploitation recognised as the primary attack vectors in Nigeria.
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Lorna Hardie, the Regional Director for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, stated that AI has become integrated into the threat landscape. Hardie remarked, “AI has become a component of the attack surface. Cybercriminals are leveraging it to automate phishing and identity theft on a large scale. The only viable response is a prevention-first security approach that integrates visibility, governance, and AI protection.”
The report emphasised changes in attack trends throughout the continent. It pointed out that South Africa is witnessing an increase in ransomware incidents, smishing, and botnet infections associated with variants like Vo1d and XorDDoS.
Nigeria Records Highest Weekly Cyber Attack
