Cyberattacks in Africa Rise 421% as Digital Economy Expands

By Njeri Irungu

Cyberattacks targeting African organisations increased by more than 421 per cent between 2016 and 2025, raising concerns about the continent’s ability to secure its rapidly growing digital economy.
A new whitepaper by Mastercard, titled Africa’s Digital Defense Race, shows that cyber threats grew faster in Africa than the global increase of 307 per cent recorded over the same period, highlighting the security challenges accompanying the continent’s digital transformation.

The report comes as digital financial services continue to expand across Africa, with mobile money adoption increasing nearly sixfold between 2016 and 2025. Digital banking users grew 4.7 times, while e-commerce expanded 5.3 times, creating new opportunities for businesses and consumers.

The continent’s digital payments economy is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2030, making cybersecurity increasingly important to the protection of financial transactions, personal information and essential services.

According to the whitepaper, Mastercard Cyber Insights recorded 69,236 observed cyber events targeting African entities in 2025, equivalent to approximately one incident every eight minutes. More than 30 per cent of the malicious activity targeted customer-facing systems, including platforms holding personal data, financial records and other sensitive information.

Although Africa accounted for about 2.3 per cent of observed global cyber incidents, the report warns that the rapid growth in attacks presents a significant challenge for organisations working to strengthen their digital defences.

The distribution of cyberattacks also varied across the continent, reflecting differences in digital adoption, financial activity and the exposure of critical systems.

Nigeria recorded the largest share of observed attacks in Africa at 24.4 per cent, followed by South Africa at 12.6 per cent and Morocco at 10.6 per cent. Kenya accounted for 7.1 per cent of the incidents monitored.

In Kenya, the findings carry particular significance because mobile money services have become an important part of everyday economic activity, supporting payments, transfers and access to financial services for millions of people.

The report also identifies technology, public services and financial services as major targets, with the three sectors collectively accounting for 44 per cent of observed cyberattack activity. Their exposure raises concerns about the potential disruption of essential services and the compromise of sensitive institutional information.

Beyond technological weaknesses, Africa faces a shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals needed to detect threats, investigate incidents and protect digital infrastructure.

The whitepaper estimates that the continent had approximately 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity positions at the end of 2025, representing a deficit equivalent to 23 per cent of its active security workforce. The shortage could leave organisations struggling to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated attacks as their digital operations expand.

To address these challenges, the report points to the importance of cooperation between governments, businesses and other institutions. The Africa Cybersecurity Center of Excellence is among the initiatives bringing public- and private-sector stakeholders together to share threat intelligence, conduct preparedness exercises and strengthen responses to emerging risks.

Regional and international law enforcement cooperation has also produced results in tackling cybercrime. Between June and August 2025, Interpol’s Operation Serengeti 2.0 coordinated operations across 18 African countries, leading to 1,209 arrests and the recovery of $97.4 million.
The operation demonstrates the potential of coordinated action in disrupting criminal networks that exploit digital systems across national borders.

Shabir Ahmed, Mastercard’s Senior Vice President and Customer Solutions Center Lead for Africa, stressed the need for coordinated regional strategies to strengthen resilience against cyber threats.

As Africa continues to embrace digital payments, online commerce and technology-driven public services, the report underscores the need for cybersecurity investment to grow alongside digital adoption. Strengthening technical infrastructure, developing skilled professionals and improving cooperation between institutions will be critical to protecting users and sustaining confidence in the continent’s digital economy.

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