African data breaches: Nigeria with 64% increase underscores cybersecurity risks

Nigeria’s data breaches have surged by 64% in the first quarter of 2023, with one user account leaked every second, according to a recent report, emphasizing the magnitude of cybersecurity concerns in Africa.
The study, conducted by cybersecurity firm Surfshark, has raised serious concerns about data breaches findings, shedding light on the growing cybersecurity challenges individuals and organizations face in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. It also called for an urgent focus on Nigeria and Africa to address the alarming rise in data breaches and enhance cybersecurity measures. Surfshark’s analysis ranks Nigeria as the 32nd most breached country worldwide in Q1 of 2023 that saw a significant 46% increase of data breaches compared to the previous quarter (Q4 ’2022). Globally, 41.6 million user accounts were breached in the same period, reflecting the pervasive nature of the issue. However, the focus remains on the implications for Nigeria, where the data breach rate is growing at an alarming pace.
A recent report by the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL), which studied the African cybercrime landscape, pinpointed the five areas of greatest concern on the continent, namely ransomware, botnets, online scams via phishing, digital extortion, and business email compromise. But while Africa has been suffering a wave of cybercrime and data breaches during the pandemic, there are some encouraging signs that cybersecurity is tightening across the region. Most governments and regulatory bodies on the continent seem to have woken up to security threats and are now treating cybersecurity with the seriousness that it deserves. Especially the European Union’s GDPR rules, and South Africa’s very own POPI legislation, have led to a wave of stricter regulation across the continent.