INTERPOL report finds AI linked to more than half of cybercrime in Africa

Artificial intelligence is enabling 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026.

With more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, Africa’s digital transformation is expanding rapidly.

However, cybercrime legislation is fragmented and AI readiness in law enforcement agencies remains alarmingly low.

The 40-page report draws on survey data from 36 African member countries and highlights a defining shift: cyber-criminality has evolved from isolated incidents into an industrialized, borderless ecosystem.

Read more…
Source:  INTERPOL


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • INTERPOL report finds AI linked to more than half of cybercrime in Africa

    August 3, 2026

    Artificial intelligence is enabling 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa making attacks faster, more scalable, and increasingly difficult for victims and platforms to detect, according to INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026. With more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers recorded in 2025, Africa’s digital transformation is expanding rapidly. However, cybercrime legislation is fragmented and AI readiness ...

  • Mirage Kitten targets Middle East and Africa region with new malware

    July 28, 2026

    Mirage Kitten – also known as UNC1549, Smoke Sandstorm, and Nimbus Manticore – is an advanced persistent threat (APT) group focused on cyber-espionage operations against aerospace, aviation, defense, and telecommunications sectors across the Middle East and Africa, using highly targeted spear-phishing campaigns, fake recruitment portals, and custom multi-stage malware to gain persistent access and exfiltrate sensitive data. During ...

  • Hack-for-hire group caught targeting Android devices and iCloud backups

    April 8, 2026

    Security researchers say they have identified a hack-for-hire group targeting journalists, activists, and government officials across the Middle East and North Africa. The hackers used phishing attacks to access targets’ iCloud backups and messaging accounts on Signal, and deployed Android spyware capable of taking over the targets’ devices. This hacking campaign highlights a growing trend of ...

  • Police arrest suspect over Microsoft 365 cyber attack

    December 19, 2025

    The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) has apprehended a suspected cyber fraudster linked to coordinated attacks on Microsoft 365 email platforms used by corporate organisations. The arrest followed an intelligence-led investigation triggered by credible information from Microsoft Corporation in the United States, conveyed through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The intelligence exposed the ...

  • Surveillance tech provider Protei was hacked, its data stolen, and its website defaced

    November 17, 2025

    A Russian telecom company that develops technology to allow phone and internet companies to conduct web surveillance and censorship was hacked, had its website defaced, and had data stolen from its servers, TechCrunch has learned. Founded in Russia, Protei makes telecommunications systems for phone and internet providers across dozens of countries, including Bahrain, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, ...

  • PassiveNeuron: a sophisticated campaign targeting servers of high-profile organizations

    October 21, 2025

    Back in 2024, Kaspersky researchers gave a brief description of a complex cyberespionage campaign that we dubbed “PassiveNeuron”. This campaign involved compromising the servers of government organizations with previously unknown APT implants, named “Neursite” and “NeuralExecutor”. However, since its discovery, the PassiveNeuron campaign has been shrouded in mystery. For instance, it remained unclear how the implants ...