Despite a sharp decline in reported data breaches, Nigeria remains vulnerable to mounting cyberthreats, with over 119,000 user accounts already compromised in 2025, a new report has revealed.
According to findings by cybersecurity firm Surfshark, Nigeria ranks third in Sub-Saharan Africa for the highest number of total breaches since 2004, recording over 23.2 million compromised accounts.
The report, which analysed over 29,000 publicly available databases, also highlighted that although data breaches in Nigeria plummeted by 85% between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025, risks associated with digital exposure remain alarmingly high.
“Cyberthreats continue to evolve, and attackers are constantly adapting their tactics,” Surfshark’s Research Lead, Luís Costa, warned.
He urged Nigerians and organisations to adopt stronger digital safety measures, including two-factor authentication and regular password updates.
Globally, data breaches fell by 93% within the same period, dropping from 973.7 million in Q4 2024 to 68.3 million in Q1 2025. Despite this positive trend, the consequences of previous attacks are still being felt.
Nigeria currently ranks 54th globally for total breaches in the first quarter of 2025, with approximately 94 unique email addresses exposed per 100 Nigerians over time.
The report also warned that 56% of the affected Nigerian users are at elevated risk of identity theft, extortion, and account takeovers. Statistically, one in every 10 Nigerians has suffered a data breach.
Among the most notable cyberattacks cited in the report was the September 2024 data leak by a hacker known as “Addka72424”, who released 3.3 billion email addresses globally—over 2.5 million of which belonged to Nigerian users.
The hacker claimed it was a “small experiment” aimed at demonstrating the vast amount of personal data readily accessible online.
The countries most affected globally include the United States (16.9 million breaches), Russia (4.4 million), India (4.2 million), Germany (3.9 million), and Spain (2.4 million).
Surfshark urged stakeholders in Nigeria’s digital space to intensify public awareness campaigns and cybersecurity training as a bulwark against the rising tide of cybercrimes.
“The drop in breaches is promising, but complacency is dangerous. Users must remain proactive,” Costa added.
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