According to a Kaspersky research, Nigeria experiences the second-highest number of cyberattacks in Africa.

Only Kenya, which was ranked 35th globally, was ahead of Nigeria, which was placed 50th globally for internet threats. The third-place finisher was South Africa, which was ranked 82nd globally.

The Kaspersky Security Network noted that these nations were gradually turning into focus locations for security risks online.

According to the report, businesses should be wary of two main types of cyber-attacks, according to Dr. Amin Hasbini, Head of the Global Research & Analysis Team (GReAT) for META at Kaspersky.

Hasbini said, “Criminal attacks are mainly driven by the pursuit of financial profit, whereas advanced attacks indicate how cyber threat actors continually adapt their tactics and tools to breach security measures.

“A significant portion of the attacks witnessed across Africa are shaped by the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. However, a growing concern is that cybercriminals are learning from successful advanced attacks to refine their craft.”

According to the research, backdoor and spyware attacks—which totaled 106,000 attack attempts—were the most frequent threat kinds in South Africa in the first quarter of 2023. It totaled 46,000 in Nigeria and 143,000 in Kenya.

A growing number of zombie machines—connected devices that joined a botnet—have been observed, according to Kaspersky.

Hasbini added, “Threats to critical infrastructure, financial institutions, government entities, and service providers have predominated the cyber threat landscape over the past year. We have witnessed different threat actors target various businesses across industries.