Cyber Attacks Spike Across African Organizations

According to Check Point Research’s Global Threat Intelligence report for July 2026, cyber attacks against organizations worldwide have increased significantly. The continent of Africa experienced an average of 3,237 attacks per week, surpassing the global average of 2,336.

The most affected countries in Africa were:

  • Angola: 5,714 weekly attacks per organization
  • Nigeria: 4,975 weekly attacks per organization
  • Kenya: 2,915 weekly attacks per organization
  • South Africa: 2,195 weekly attacks per organization

The Financial Services, Government, and Energy & Utility sectors faced the highest attack volumes on the continent.

Ransomware Threat Doubles

A particularly concerning trend was the surge in ransomware activity. Reported incidents reached 964 in July, representing a 49% increase from June and an 87% jump compared to July 2025. This marks a significant acceleration from earlier in the year when monthly averages hovered around 672 incidents.

The Business Services sector was hit hardest, accounting for 32.5% of all ransomware victims, followed by Industrial Manufacturing (14.4%) and Consumer Goods & Services (13.4%).

GenAI Risks Become Operational Reality

With the growing adoption of generative AI tools, organizations face new security challenges. Check Point Research found that:

  • One in 36 enterprise prompts contained a high risk of sensitive data leakage
  • 88% of organizations using regular GenAI tools experienced high-risk activity
  • Users generated an average of 95 prompts per organization across 8 different AI tools

Personal data was the most common type of information exposed (70%), followed by financial data and network/IT infrastructure details.

Email Remains a Primary Attack Vector

Email continues to be a major entry point for cyber threats. One in every 106 emails in Africa contained phishing links—the highest rate globally—while an additional 20% fell into categories like spam, graymail, and suspicious messages.

According to Lorna Hardie, Regional Director at Check Point Research: “Organizations need prevention-first, AI-driven security that protects networks, users, data, and AI workflows before attacks can cause impact.” The current threat landscape demands a proactive approach that addresses multiple risk fronts simultaneously.