Cyberattacks in Africa Rise 421% Amid Rapid Digital Expansion, Mastercard Reports
October 16th 2026
- Cyberattacks across Africa surged 421.4% between 2016 and 2025, outpacing the global increase of 307%, according to Mastercard. The continent recorded 69,236 attacks in 2025, roughly one every eight minutes.
- Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Kenya accounted for 54.7% of cyberattacks in Africa in 2025, while cybercrime caused at least $5 billion in direct economic losses across the continent.
- Africa’s cybersecurity investment is struggling to keep pace with digital growth. Most sub-Saharan African countries spend an average of just 0.03% of GDP on cybersecurity, while approximately 200,000 cybersecurity jobs remain unfilled.
Cyberattacks targeting businesses, public institutions and individuals across Africa rose 421.4% between 2016 and 2025, compared with a global increase of 307%, according to a report published by U.S. payments giant Mastercard on Monday, October 12. The report, titled Africa’s Digital Defense Race: Mapping Africa’s Cyber Threat Environment and Defense Priorities, recorded 69,236 cyberattacks on the continent in 2025, equivalent to roughly one attack every eight minutes.
Africa’s share of cyberattacks worldwide increased from about 3.4% to 4.4% over the period, underscoring how cyber threats have grown faster on the continent than the global average. Estimates compiled by Interpol also indicate that cybercrime caused at least $5 billion in direct economic losses across Africa last year.
The rise in cyber threats comes amid rapid growth in digital services. Between 2016 and 2025, the number of mobile money users in Africa increased 5.9-fold, while the number of online banking users rose 4.7-fold. The e-commerce market expanded 4.2-fold over the same period.
Africa’s digital economy is expected to expand further in the coming years. The continent’s digital payments market is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, while its artificial intelligence (AI) economy is expected to more than triple over the next five years to $16.5 billion. Sub-Saharan Africa could also generate up to 230 million jobs in the digital sector by the end of the decade.
The report found that exposure to cyber risks is increasingly linked to economic activity. Four countries, Nigeria, South Africa, Morocco and Kenya, accounted for 54.7% of all cyberattacks recorded across Africa last year. The same factors that make these markets attractive to investors, including bankable infrastructure, expanding payment systems and growing digital public services, also make them attractive targets for cybercriminals.
Cyberattacks Grow More Sophisticated
The nature of cyberattacks is changing. Cyber threats in Africa previously consisted mainly of consumer scams and phishing campaigns, but more recent attacks increasingly target banks, telecommunications operators, government systems, logistics networks and critical infrastructure. The technology, public and financial services sectors accounted for 44% of all cyberattacks recorded across the continent in 2025.
Cybercrime targeting African organizations has also become increasingly professionalized. More than 60% of recorded incidents were attributed to malicious hackers, commonly known as blackhat hackers, and organized criminal groups. Politically motivated actors accounted for 13.9% of incidents, while state-sponsored actors were responsible for 9.7%.
Rising cybercrime is slowing innovation, increasing business costs and exposing governments, financial institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and consumers to greater risks. African financial technology (fintech) startups, for example, now spend between 8% and 12% of their operating expenses on cybersecurity solutions, up from just 3% to 5% in 2020.
The report found that digital adoption across Africa is advancing faster than the continent’s cybersecurity capabilities. The world’s most mature cybersecurity markets spend approximately 0.25% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on cybersecurity. South Africa, the continent’s leading performer in this area, allocates about 0.19% of its GDP, while other sub-Saharan African countries spend an average of just 0.03%.
The shortage of cybersecurity professionals is another concern, with approximately 200,000 positions remaining unfilled across Africa. International and regional cooperation could play a major role in tackling cybercrime. Interpol’s Operation Serengeti 2.0, conducted between June and August 2025, resulted in 1,209 arrests across 18 African countries and the recovery of $97.4 million.
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