Cyberattacks: Nigeria Among Most Targeted African Countries in November—Report

Nigeria recorded one of the highest volumes of cyberattacks in Africa in November 2025, according to a new Global Threat Intelligence report released by Check Point Research.

The report shows that organisations operating in Nigeria faced an average of 3,374 cyberattacks per week during the month, placing the country second among the four African nations analysed, behind Angola, which recorded 4,251 attacks per organisation weekly.

Kenya followed with 2,384 attacks, while South Africa recorded 1,863.

Rising threats despite Africa-wide decline 

While Africa as a region experienced a 13% year-on-year decline in cyberattacks, Nigeria’s figures show the country’s continued exposure to cyber risks, particularly across critical sectors.

1. Check Point Research noted that government institutions, financial services firms, and companies in the consumer goods and services sector were the most targeted across the continent in November.
2. Globally, organisations faced an average of 2,003 cyberattacks per week, representing a 3% increase from October and a 4% rise compared to the same period last year.
3. The sustained increase reflects a broader escalation in cyber threats worldwide, driven largely by the expansion of ransomware operations and emerging risks linked to the rapid adoption of generative artificial intelligence tools.

Education and government institutions under pressure 

The report highlighted the education sector as the most attacked globally, with institutions recording an average of 4,656 attacks per organisation per week in November, a 7% increase year-on-year. Government institutions followed with 2,716 weekly attacks, while associations and non-profits experienced a sharp 57% surge to 2,550 attacks per week.

Beyond traditional cyber threats, the report flagged growing risks associated with enterprise use of Generative AI (GenAI) tools.

According to Check Point Research, one in every 35 GenAI prompts submitted from enterprise networks globally in November posed a high risk of sensitive data leakage.

The findings show that 87% of organisations that regularly use GenAI tools were affected by high-risk prompts, indicating how deeply AI tools have become embedded in daily workflows. An additional 22% of prompts contained potentially sensitive information, including internal communications, customer data, proprietary code, or personal identifiers.

Check Point Research noted that organisations now use an average of 11 different GenAI tools each month, many of which operate outside formal security governance frameworks. This trend increases the likelihood of accidental data exposure and creates new entry points for cybercriminals, including ransomware groups and AI-powered attackers.

Ransomware activity accelerates globally 

Ransomware remained one of the most damaging cyber threats in November, with 727 publicly reported incidents worldwide, marking a 22% year-on-year increase.

While North America accounted for 55% of reported cases and Europe for 18%, the impact of ransomware continues to be felt across emerging markets, including Africa.

Industrial manufacturing, business services, and consumer goods and services were the most affected industries globally.

1. The leading ransomware groups during the month were Qilin, Clop, and Akira, which together accounted for a significant share of victim disclosures.
2. Regionally, Latin America recorded the highest attack volumes, averaging 3,048 attacks per organisation per week, up 17% year-on-year.
3. Africa saw a decline, Europe experienced a slight 1% decrease, while North America recorded a 9% increase, driven in part by intensified ransomware activity. The Asia-Pacific region remained relatively flat.

Why it matters 

The report’s findings come as Nigeria continues to push digital transformation across sectors such as finance, education, telecommunications, and government services.

While these efforts support economic growth and efficiency, they also expand the country’s digital attack surface.

During the last general elections in the country, the government said it was able to block over 200 cyberattacks targeting the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) digital infrastructure.