Nigeria Moves up Cyber Threat Index, African Nations Dominate Top 20 – Report

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1 month ago Newsroom

Nigeria witnessed a significant rise in cyberattacks, jumping from the 35th to the 13th position on the Global Threat Index between May and December 2024.

This was reported by Global Threat Index, a leading cybersecurity solutions company, which measures the global cyber threat landscape based on credible threat intelligence.

According to the report, Nigeria’s alarming cyberattacks surge, coincided with a sharp increase in the country’s normalised risk index from 46.5% to 62.3%.

The report revealed a concerning trend as eight African countries dominated the top 20 positions. Ethiopia retained the top spot with a staggering 98.2% Normalised Risk Index.

Other African nations ahead of Nigeria included Uganda (8th), Angola (9th), Ghana (11th), Kenya (17th), Mozambique (18th), and Côte d’Ivoire (20th).

The report highlighted FunkSec, an AI-powered ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group, as the most active attacker in December, responsible for 14% of all breaches. This Algerian-linked group, driven by financial motives and hacktivist ideologies, leaked data from over 85 victims. Other prominent attackers included FakeUpdates (5%), AgentTesla (3%), and Androxgh0st (3%).

These findings underscore the growing sophistication and scale of cyber threats, particularly in Africa, demanding urgent attention to cybersecurity measures.