15 Oct Cyberattacks across Africa rise by more than 421%

Cyberattacks targeting organisations across Africa increased by more than 421% between 2016 and 2025, outpacing the global rise of 307%, according to a new whitepaper commissioned by Mastercard.

The report, Africa’s Digital Defense Race, recorded 69,236 cyber events targeting African organisations in 2025, equivalent to approximately one observed event every eight minutes. The findings highlight the security challenges accompanying the continent’s expanding digital economy.

Digital adoption has accelerated over the past decade, with mobile money users increasing 5.9-fold between 2016 and 2025. Digital banking users grew 4.7-fold, while the e-commerce market expanded 5.3-fold. Africa’s digital payments economy is projected to reach US$1.5 trillion by 2030.

The report identifies technology, the public sector and financial services as the three sectors accounting for 44% of observed cyber activity. Personal information, financial information and customer-facing services represented 27% of targeted assets.

Threat exposure varies across the continent. Nigeria accounted for a significant share of observed cyberattacks (24.4%), while South Africa’s financial sector was targeted by 12.6% of the continent’s observed attacks. The report also highlights Kenya’s need to protect the systems underpinning financial inclusion and digital growth.

Cybersecurity skills shortages present a further challenge. The whitepaper estimates that Africa has approximately 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity roles, equivalent to 23% of its current cybersecurity workforce.

Mastercard identifies cooperation between governments, businesses and financial institutions as an important part of improving resilience. The Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence brings public- and private-sector participants together to share threat intelligence, knowledge and security practices.

The report also points to the results of coordinated enforcement efforts. Between June and August 2025, Interpol’s Operation Serengeti 2.0 resulted in 1,209 arrests across 18 African countries and the recovery of US$97.4 million.