Nigeria recorded 1.6 million online cyberattack attempts in the first half of 2026, reinforcing concerns that the country’s expanding digital economy is becoming an increasingly attractive target for cybercriminals using artificial intelligence to automate attacks, evade detection and exploit businesses at unprecedented speed.
New threat intelligence from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky shows that Nigeria was among the five most-targeted countries in the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META) region between January and June 2026. Its security systems blocked 1.6 million web-based attacks originating from malicious websites, phishing emails and compromised online services during the six-month period.
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While Nigeria recorded fewer attacks than South Africa (5.7 million) and Kenya (4.5 million), the report reveals that 18.4 percent of Nigerian internet users encountered web-based cyber threats during the period, placing the country fourth in the META region behind Türkiye
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