Cyberattacks in Africa exceed global average

Cyberattacks targeting organizations in Africa exceeded the global average in August 2026, according to research from Check Point Software Technologies. The energy and utilities sectors were identified as the most frequent targets, followed by financial services and government institutions.

Among the countries analyzed, Angola recorded the highest volume with 5,416 attacks per organization per week, a 47 percent increase year-on-year. Nigeria followed with 4,906 weekly attacks, up 45 percent, and Kenya recorded 3,658 attacks, a 6 percent increase. South Africa reported 2,086 attacks per week, which was slightly below the global average of 2,422 and represented a 3 percent decrease year-on-year.

Key security challenges identified include ransomware, phishing, and data exposure related to Generative AI (GenAI). While high-risk GenAI prompts reached their lowest level in several months, the overall usage of AI tools continues to rise, increasing the potential for sensitive information to be entered into tools without adequate controls.