Warns of rising Ransomware threat in the region

INTERPOL has detected about 3,459 ransomware threats in Nigeria, ranking the country as the third most prone country to cyber attack in 2024. In its 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report, INTERPOL highlighted how cyber-enabled criminal activity is evolving rapidly across Africa.

According to INTERPOL, cyber criminals have not ceased to unleash attacks, especially in the region, with attacks almost on a daily basis, stressing that Africa’s growing digital landscape is becoming a target for sophisticated cybercrime operations.

The international criminal police organisation noted that private sector partners showed a notable rise in monthly ransomware detections in 2024.

INTERPOL listed 10 targeted countries to include Egypt with 17,849 ransomware threat detections, South Africa 12,281, Nigeria 3,459, Kenya 3,030, Gambia 1,729, Ghana 1,671, Tunisia 1,232, Algeria 1,117, Morocco 1,076 and Ethiopia 953.

Online scams, BEC, ransomware and sextortion, according to the report, are the continent’s most dangerous cyber threats. However, INTERPOL noted that the methods and impact vary significantly based on each region’s infrastructure, security protocols, and digital literacy

The report noted that ransomware attacks caused substantial financial and operational damage across Africa in 2024, affecting key sectors, including finance, energy, infrastructure, government and telecommunications.

INTERPOL warned of a worrying increase in cybercrime on the African continent, stressing that “two-thirds of African member countries reported that cybercrime accounts for a medium or high proportion of total reported crime.”

The report also highlighted that more than 30 per cent of crimes reported in West and East Africa relate to online criminal activity. Among the most frequent threats are digital scams, ransomware attacks (malware that restricts access to files or systems), business email impersonation and ‘sextortion’.

It also stresses that 90 per cent of African countries acknowledge the need for ‘significant improvement’ in their capabilities to investigate, prosecute and punish these crimes.

The Director of Cybercrime, INTERPOL, Neal Jetton, said the fourth edition of the ‘Cyber Threat Assessment in Africa’ report provided an up-to-date analysis of the digital context in the region, based on operational data and cooperation with the private sector.  He highlighted the emergence of threats such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) fraud and stressed that “no country can tackle them alone”.

On his part, Interim Executive Director of Afripol, Amb Jalel Chelba, pointed out that cybersecurity “is no longer just a technical issue, but a key pillar for stability, peace and sustainable development” in Africa.

The report noted that in the past year, suspected scam notifications rose by up to 3,000 per cent in some African countries, according to data from Kaspersky – one of several private sector partners that work with INTERPOL’s cybercrime directorate.

Despite rising caseloads, most African countries surveyed still lack essential Information Technology (IT) infrastructure to combat cybercrime. Just 30 per cent of countries reported having an incident reporting system, 29 per cent a digital evidence repository and 19 per cent a cyber threat intelligence database.