Africa has become the world’s most targeted region for cyberattacks, with organisations across the continent facing an average of 3,834 attacks per week in October 2026, according to a new report by Check Point Research.
The figure represents a 38 per cent increase compared with October 2025, placing Africa ahead of Latin America, which recorded an average of 3,483 weekly attacks per organisation, and Asia-Pacific, with 3,436.
Nigeria ranked as the world’s most attacked country, recording an average of 6,676 cyberattacks per organisation every week, a 140 per cent increase year on year.
Angola followed with 6,116 attacks, representing an 88 per cent rise, while Kenya ranked fourth globally, behind Mexico, with 4,302 weekly attacks, up 46 per cent.
South Africa placed 22nd among the 42 countries surveyed, recording 2,191 attacks per organisation per week, a 17 per cent increase.
The financial services, government, and energy and utilities sectors were the most targeted industries across Africa.
Ian van Rensburg, head of security engineering for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, attributed the rising attack volumes partly to the rapid expansion of digital operations across the continent without a corresponding improvement in cybersecurity.
“Africa’s high attack volumes reflect how quickly organisations are expanding their digital operations, often without security keeping pace. In markets like Nigeria and Angola, increased connectivity, investment in digital services and growing reliance on technology are creating more opportunities for attackers,” he said.
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Van Rensburg added that cybercriminals were increasingly using automation and artificial intelligence to launch attacks on a larger scale.
Globally, organisations faced an average of 2,550 cyberattacks per week in October, 32 per cent higher than the figure recorded in the same month last year, although the average declined by nine per cent from September.
The education sector remained the most targeted globally, with an average of 5,934 attacks per organisation weekly. Agriculture recorded the sharpest increase, with attacks rising by 93 per cent to 3,218 per week.
The report also raised concerns about the security risks associated with the growing use of generative artificial intelligence tools in businesses.
It found that approximately one in every 35 enterprise generative AI prompts, representing 2.9 per cent, carried a high risk of exposing sensitive information. The risk affected 90 per cent of organisations that regularly use such tools.
The proportion of potentially risky prompts increased each month during the quarter, rising from 2.3 per cent in August.
Financial information was the most frequently exposed category, appearing in AI prompts at 71 per cent of organisations. Legal and regulatory documents, as well as network and IT infrastructure details, were each identified at 70 per cent of organisations.
Van Rensburg warned that while AI was helping attackers operate more efficiently, employees and businesses were also creating vulnerabilities by sharing sensitive information through AI platforms.
Ransomware activity also reached a new high, with criminal groups publicly claiming 1,063 victims in October, a 35 per cent increase from a year earlier.
Business services accounted for 31.5 per cent of the reported victims. The Gentlemen was the most active ransomware group, accounting for 13 per cent of published attacks, followed by Qilin with 12 per cent.
The report identified n0n, a relatively new data-theft and extortion operation, as the third most active group, with an eight per cent share, up from two per cent in September. Check Point said the group relies heavily on AI-assisted tools.
Meanwhile, phishing activity declined, with one in every 128 emails, or 0.78 per cent, identified as malicious in October, compared with one in 91 emails in September. Links accounted for 79 per cent of the malicious emails.
Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, called on organisations to strengthen their cybersecurity strategies through early threat detection, artificial intelligence-powered protection, shared intelligence and consistent security governance.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
