Mastercard 2026 Report • Cybersecurity
Africa is going through an unprecedented digital transformation, but this success comes at a price. According to Mastercard’s latest report, “Africa’s Digital Defense Race”, published in October 2026, cyberattacks on the continent have surged by 421% in less than ten years. With estimated losses of $5 billion and a critical shortage of 200,000 cybersecurity experts, African businesses and States have become prime targets. Discover in our exclusive carousel the report’s most striking figures, the most targeted countries, and the major challenges in securing our digital economy.
SECURITY ALERT
Mastercard's latest shocking report reveals that cybercrime is growing much faster in Africa than in the rest of the world. Our analysis.
Rise in attacks
The staggering increase in cyberattacks in Africa since 2016 (compared with a global average of 307%).
Strike frequency
In 2025, the continent suffered on average one major cyberattack every eight minutes.
In losses (Interpol)
The estimated direct economic cost of cybercrime in Africa over the past year alone.
Four countries alone attract more than half of Africa's online crime:
Cybercrime follows wealth: these 4 countries are pioneers of modern banking infrastructure and Mobile Money (whose use has grown sixfold in ten years). An El Dorado for attackers.
Attacks focused on small-scale scams (“brouteurs”), basic phishing campaigns and personal data theft aimed directly at the end consumer.
60% of incidents are now orchestrated by organised criminal gangs. They target the backbone of countries:
Sub-Saharan Africa invests on average only 0.03% of its GDP in cybersecurity (compared with 0.25% in mature countries).
The continent is currently short of 200,000 professionals (engineers, CISOs) to secure it. Companies are struggling to recruit.
As a result, Fintech startups now allocate up to 12% of their spending to security, at the expense of R&D.
“Technology is no longer enough. As Orange CI points out: cybersecurity is 30% technical and 70% human governance!”
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