- Africa overtakes all areas with 3,834 weekly assaults per organisation, as new survey warns criminals are ‘shifting quicker’ and ‘at a scale we haven’t seen earlier than.’
- Ransomware claims hit document 1,063 victims in October, with newcomer n0n accounting for 8% of revealed assaults.
- Dangerous GenAI prompts rise for third consecutive month, with 2.9% at excessive threat of leaking delicate information.
Organisations in Africa confronted a mean of three,834 cyber assaults per week in October, the very best of any area and 38 per cent greater than a yr earlier, in line with new menace intelligence from Examine Level Analysis.
The figures, revealed on Wednesday, confirmed the continent returning to the highest of the regional desk for the primary time in additional than a yr, as world assault volumes remained nearly a 3rd larger than in October 2025 regardless of easing month on month. The typical organisation worldwide confronted 2,550 assaults every week, down 9 per cent from September however up 32 per cent yr on yr.
Europe recorded the steepest progress of any area, with assaults 39 per cent larger than a yr earlier, forward of Africa’s 38 per cent and North America’s 33 per cent rise. Latin America adopted Africa in absolute phrases with 3,483 weekly assaults per organisation, whereas Asia-Pacific recorded 3,436.
“Africa’s excessive assault volumes mirror how rapidly organisations are increasing their digital operations, usually with out safety protecting tempo,” mentioned Ian van Rensburg, head of safety engineering for Africa at Examine Level Software program Applied sciences. “Elevated connectivity, funding in digital companies and rising reliance on know-how are creating extra alternatives for attackers.”
Monetary companies, authorities and vitality and utilities had been essentially the most focused sectors in Africa. Angola, Nigeria and Kenya ranked among the many 5 most attacked nations of the 42 surveyed. Nigeria topped the listing with 6,676 assaults per organisation per week, up 140 per cent yr on yr, adopted by Angola with 6,116, up 88 per cent. Kenya ranked fourth with 4,302 assaults, a 46 per cent improve, whereas South Africa positioned twenty second with 2,191, up 17 per cent.
Cyber assaults: Ransomware reaches document ranges as n0n breaks into high three
Ransomware teams publicly claimed 1,063 victims in October, 35 per cent greater than in the identical month final yr and the biggest month-to-month whole recorded up to now. Enterprise companies accounted for 31.5 per cent of claims, forward of shopper items and companies at 14.9 per cent and industrial manufacturing at 11.6 per cent.
North America made up 48 per cent of claimed victims, with Europe at 22 per cent and Asia-Pacific at 18 per cent. America alone represented 44.3 per cent, far forward of Germany at 5.2 per cent and Canada at 4 per cent.
The Gents remained the busiest extortion group, behind 13 per cent of revealed assaults, with Qilin shut behind at 12 per cent. In third place was n0n with 8 per cent, a pointy rise from 2 per cent in September, the month it first appeared. Examine Level described n0n as a data-theft and extortion operation whose operators rely closely on AI-assisted instruments — an indication of how generative AI may help menace actors speed up and amplify malicious exercise.
“The rise in assaults exhibits that cybercriminals have gotten extra aggressive and extra environment friendly,” mentioned Van Rensburg. “AI is making it simpler for attackers to function at scale, whereas companies are additionally exposing delicate data by means of their very own use of AI instruments.”
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GenAI information leakage threat climbs for third month
Roughly one in 35 enterprise GenAI prompts, or 2.9 per cent, carried a excessive threat of leaking delicate information in October, affecting 90 per cent of organisations that use such instruments frequently. An extra 12 per cent of prompts contained doubtlessly delicate data.
The high-risk price has risen each month prior to now quarter, from 2.3 per cent in August and a couple of.5 per cent in September. Every consumer despatched a mean of 91 prompts throughout the month, with organisations counting on seven GenAI instruments on common.
Monetary data appeared most frequently, that includes in prompts at 71 per cent of organisations, adopted by authorized and regulatory materials and community and IT infrastructure particulars at 70 per cent every. Enterprise companies topped the sector rating with 5.4 per cent of prompts rated excessive threat, nearly double the worldwide common, forward of presidency at 4.6 per cent and monetary companies at 4.5 per cent. Latin America stood out regionally at 3.8 per cent.
Phishing receded from September, with one in 128 emails malicious in contrast with one in 91 the earlier month. Of these, 79 per cent included a hyperlink and 14 per cent an attachment. Development and engineering was hit hardest at 1.72 per cent, greater than double the worldwide common.
Training remained essentially the most attacked sector globally, with every organisation hit 5,934 instances every week on common, 33 per cent greater than a yr earlier. Agriculture posted the steepest rise amongst main sectors, up 93 per cent to three,218 weekly assaults, adopted by telecommunications at 3,068, up 19 per cent. All tracked sectors skilled double-digit progress.
“October’s outcomes spotlight why organisations ought to act on publicity earlier than attackers do,” mentioned Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Examine Level. “A prevention-first technique that mixes AI-powered safety, shared menace intelligence and constant governance may help safety groups cease threats earlier.”
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