Nigeria has recorded 1.6 million cyber-attack attempts in six months as AI raises the threat
Kaspersky has detected 1.6 million web-based cyber-attack attempts in Nigeria in the first half of 2026, putting the country among the five most targeted in the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa region.
South Africa and Kenya posted higher absolute numbers, yet 18.4 percent of Nigerian internet users still faced threats, placing the country fourth in the regional percentage ranking.
The concern is not only the volume of attacks. Security researchers note that attackers are now folding large language models into almost every stage of their operations.
Automated phishing, faster vulnerability scanning and more convincing social-engineering messages are among the immediate results.
That creates a growing challenge for a country whose digital economy is expanding rapidly. The same expansion driving fintech, online services and e-government also widens the attack surface available to criminals.
Defenders are responding by pairing continuous AI monitoring with human judgment rather than handing full control to machines.
That balance matters because AI can process large amounts of security information quickly, but people still need to understand the wider context behind an alert and decide what action should follow.
The numbers make the direction clear: Nigeria is dealing with rising attack volume and increasing sophistication at the same time. As more services move online, stronger security will have to develop alongside the digital expansion rather than after it.
