Nigeria Faces Over 4,700 Cyberattacks Weekly, Expert Warns
Nigeria is recording more than 4,700 cyberattacks every week, a cybersecurity expert has warned, according to the News Agency of Nigeria. The figure underscores the scale of digital threats facing Africa’s most populous country as it expands its online economy and digital services.
A rapidly digitising economy
Nigeria has one of the largest internet user bases on the continent, with millions of citizens relying on mobile money, online banking and e-government platforms. Lagos has emerged as a regional hub for fintech and technology start-ups, drawing significant foreign investment in recent years. That growth has, however, come with rising exposure to cyber threats ranging from phishing and ransomware to business email compromise and identity theft.
Legal and institutional response
Nigeria’s main legal framework for cybercrime is the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act of 2015, which criminalised a range of online offences and set out procedures for the investigation and prosecution of cyber-related crimes. The country has also established institutions such as the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team, known as ngCERT, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, which oversees data protection rules. The Nigerian Communications Commission has likewise run awareness campaigns aimed at small businesses and individual users.
Why the threat matters
Cybersecurity analysts routinely warn that digital intrusions have become a major operational and financial burden for businesses and public institutions across West Africa, with small and medium-sized enterprises often the worst affected because they lack dedicated security teams. The weekly attack figure cited by the expert highlights how routine such attempts have become for Nigerian institutions and households alike.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
- News Agency of Nigeria — Nigeria Records Over 4,700 Cyberattacks Weekly – Expert
