In 2023, most major economies in Africa experienced fewer overall cyber threats, but there were some exceptions. Kenya saw a 68% rise in ransomware attacks and South Africa saw a 29% jump in phishing attacks targeting sensitive information. Cyber attackers are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and experimenting with ways to incorporate AI into their toolkits.

Business email compromise actors are the primary cyber threat to organizations and individuals, with financial, telecom, government, and retail sectors accounting for over 50% of all attacks in the Africa region. Eighty percent of attacks on African organizations involved malware and 91% of attacks on African citizens included social engineering, according to the 2023 report by Positive Technologies on threats to the Africa region. Positive Technologies suggested that African organizations invest in developing their cybersecurity experts through regular training and certification to support in preventing and responding to cyberattacks.

Read More: Infrastructure Cyberattacks, AI-Powered Threats Pummel Africa