Nigeria's weekly cyberattacks hit 4,906 per organisation as threats jump 45%
By Aboki Forex —
Nigerian organisations recorded an average of 4,906 cyberattacks per organisation every week in August 2026, a 45% increase year on year. The figure places Nigeria among the most targeted markets in Africa, according to the latest Global Threat Intelligence report by Check Point Research, the threat intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies.
Nigeria's weekly average was more than twice the global figure of 2,422 attacks per organisation and was second only to Angola among the four African countries covered in the report.
Angola leads Africa, South Africa improves
Angola recorded 5,416 weekly attacks per organisation, up 47% year on year. Kenya followed with 3,658 attacks, up 6%. South Africa recorded 2,086 weekly attacks, down 3% year on year.
At the continental level, African organisations experienced an average of 3,335 attacks per organisation per week in August, up from 3,237 in July.
Globally, organisations recorded 2,422 weekly attacks in August, a 4% month on month increase and a 22% rise from August 2025.
Check Point said the Energy and Utilities sector was the most targeted industry in Africa in August, followed by financial services and government institutions.
Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Check Point Software, described the trend as a red flag given the weight of energy infrastructure on national economies.
"The Energy & Utilities sector is the heartbeat of any country's economy, and ensuring its cyber security should be a matter of priority for all concerned," Hardie said.
Ransomware attacks nearly double
Ransomware intensified during the month, with 1,042 reported attacks globally in August, almost double the level recorded in August 2025 and 8% higher than July.
Business Services accounted for 36% of reported ransomware attacks, followed by Industrial Manufacturing at 13% and Consumer Goods and Services at 12%.
Check Point said Qilin was the most active ransomware group in August, accounting for 15% of published attacks, followed by The Gentlemen with 10%. Orova entered the top three for the first time.
Banks and critical infrastructure in the crosshairs
The August data follows a similarly elevated threat level in July, when Nigerian organisations recorded an average of 4,975 weekly cyberattacks, according to Check Point Research.
Earlier in May this year, the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) issued a fresh alert to organisations across Nigeria's critical sectors, warning of a sustained and intensifying wave of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks disrupting digital infrastructure.
In the advisory, ngCERT said threat actors were increasingly deploying sophisticated techniques, including botnets, amplification methods, and the exploitation of known vulnerabilities, to overwhelm systems and render essential services inaccessible. The agency noted that both government and private sector platforms are at risk as attackers refine their methods.
While most cyber attacks on corporate organisations remain unreported, ngCERT disclosed in a recent warning to Nigerian financial institutions that cybercriminals orchestrated a coordinated ATM cash-out operation against UBA Senegal, resulting in fraudulent withdrawals exceeding $2 million through 3,421 ATM transactions.
The agency said recent incidents across the continent show how threat actors infiltrate banking networks through phishing campaigns, supply chain vulnerabilities, or insider access before deploying malware such as Ploutus variants and other jackpotting tools.
For Nigerian businesses, the numbers point to a rising cost of doing digital business. Every successful breach carries direct losses, remediation spending and possible regulatory scrutiny, at a time when lenders and service providers are already managing tight margins.