- Africa overtakes all regions with 3,834 weekly attacks per organisation, as new survey warns criminals are ‘moving faster’ and ‘at a scale we haven’t seen before.’
- Ransomware claims hit record 1,063 victims in October, with newcomer n0n accounting for 8% of published attacks.
- Risky GenAI prompts rise for third consecutive month, with 2.9% at high risk of leaking sensitive data.
Organisations in Africa faced an average of 3,834 cyber attacks per week in October, the highest of any region and 38 per cent more than a year earlier, according to new threat intelligence from Check Point Research.
The figures, published on Wednesday, showed the continent returning to the top of the regional table for the first time in more than a year, as global attack volumes remained almost a third higher than in October 2025 despite easing month on month. The average organisation worldwide faced 2,550 attacks each week, down 9 per cent from September but up 32 per cent year on year.
Europe recorded the steepest growth of any region, with attacks 39 per cent higher than a year earlier, ahead of Africa’s 38 per cent and North America’s 33 per cent rise. Latin America followed Africa in absolute terms with 3,483 weekly attacks per organisation, while Asia-Pacific recorded 3,436.
“Africa’s high attack volumes reflect how quickly organisations are expanding their digital operations, often without security keeping pace,” said Ian van Rensburg, head of security engineering for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies. “Increased connectivity, investment in digital services and growing reliance on technology are creating more opportunities for attackers.”
Financial services, government and energy and utilities were the most targeted sectors in Africa. Angola, Nigeria and Kenya ranked among the five most attacked countries of the 42 surveyed. Nigeria topped the list with 6,676 attacks per organisation per week, up 140 per cent year on year, followed by Angola with 6,116, up 88 per cent. Kenya ranked fourth with 4,302 attacks, a 46 per cent increase, while South Africa placed 22nd with 2,191, up 17 per cent.
Cyber attacks: Ransomware reaches record levels as n0n breaks into top three
Ransomware groups publicly claimed 1,063 victims in October, 35 per cent more than in the same month last year and the largest monthly total recorded to date. Business services accounted for 31.5 per cent of claims, ahead of consumer goods and services 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. The United States alone represented 44.3 per cent, far ahead of Germany at 5.2 per cent and Canada at 4 per cent.
The Gentlemen remained the busiest extortion group, behind 13 per cent of published attacks, with Qilin close behind at 12 per cent. In third place was n0n with 8 per cent, a sharp rise from 2 per cent in September, the month it first appeared. Check Point described n0n as a data-theft and extortion operation whose operators rely heavily on AI-assisted tools — a sign of how generative AI can help threat actors accelerate and amplify malicious activity.
“The increase in attacks shows that cybercriminals are becoming more aggressive and more efficient,” said Van Rensburg. “AI is making it easier for attackers to operate at scale, while businesses are also exposing sensitive information through their own use of AI tools.”
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GenAI data leakage risk climbs for third month
Roughly one in 35 enterprise GenAI prompts, or 2.9 per cent, carried a high risk of leaking sensitive data in October, affecting 90 per cent of organisations that use such tools regularly. A further 12 per cent of prompts contained potentially sensitive information.
The high-risk rate has risen every month in the past quarter, from 2.3 per cent in August and 2.5 per cent in September. Each user sent an average of 91 prompts during the month, with organisations relying on seven GenAI tools on average.
Financial information appeared most often, featuring in prompts at 71 per cent of organisations, followed by legal and regulatory material and network and IT infrastructure details at 70 per cent each. Business services topped the sector ranking with 5.4 per cent of prompts rated high risk, almost double the global average, ahead of government at 4.6 per cent and financial services 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 compared with one in 91 the previous month. Of those, 79 per cent included a link and 14 per cent an attachment. Construction and engineering was hit hardest at 1.72 per cent, more than double the global average.
Education remained the most attacked sector globally, with each organisation hit 5,934 times a week on average, 33 per cent more than a year earlier. Agriculture posted the steepest rise among leading sectors, up 93 per cent to 3,218 weekly attacks, followed by telecommunications at 3,068, up 19 per cent. All tracked sectors experienced double-digit growth.
“October’s results highlight why organisations should act on exposure before attackers do,” said Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Check Point. “A prevention-first strategy that combines AI-powered protection, shared threat intelligence and consistent governance can help security teams stop threats earlier.”
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