A recent research done by the Australian-based cybersecurity firm, Surfshark, has revealed that data breaches in Nigeria are spiraling out of control.
Nigeria was the 32nd most breached country in the world, with a stunning 64% increase in breach events during the first quarter of 2023.
The findings provide light on the expanding cybersecurity concerns that African individuals and companies, notably in Nigeria, confront.
According to Surfshark’s data, Nigeria was the 32nd most penetrated country in the world from January to March 2023 (Q1’2023), highlighting the region’s urgent need for improved cybersecurity measures.
In Nigeria, a total of 82,000 accounts were compromised during Q1’2023, showing a significant 46% rise over the previous quarter (Q4’2022).
In the same time span, 41.6 million user accounts were compromised globally, demonstrating the pervasiveness of the problem.
The focus, however, remains on the ramifications for Nigeria, where the prevalence of data breaches is increasing at an alarming rate.
The findings underline the critical need for Nigerian individuals and companies to prioritise cybersecurity and sensitive information protection.
As the number of data breaches increases, cybercriminals profit from compromised data by using it for a variety of nefarious activities such as phishing attacks, fraud, identity theft, and other significant cybercrimes.
Nigeria is at the forefront of the data breach crisis in Africa, urging stakeholders to take prompt action.
The repercussions of compromised personal information can be disastrous, as individuals become more vulnerable to cyber threats and their personal and financial information is compromised.