Microsoft: AI-powered cyberattacks surge in Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 24 - Africa has become a testing ground for the world’s most advanced cyberattacks, according to Microsoft’s 2025 Digital Defense Kenya breaking news | Kenya news today |..
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Microsoft's 2025 Digital Defense Report reveals a significant surge in AI-powered cyberattacks across Africa, with the continent becoming a "proving ground" for advanced threats including deepfakes and digital impersonation. Cybercriminals are leveraging AI to enhance phishing schemes and exploit common digital platforms.
- Financially driven cyberattacks in Africa have increased from Sh25 billion ($192 million) to Sh63 billion ($484 million), affecting 87,000 victims.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC) has overtaken ransomware, accounting for 21 percent of successful financial attacks.
- AI-powered phishing now achieves a 54 percent click rate, which is 4.5 times higher than traditional methods, and can increase profitability by up to 50-fold.
- Microsoft's Chief Security Advisor for Africa, Kerissa Varma, highlights that attackers are tailoring phishing messages in local languages and mimicking familiar figures.
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Nvidia Invests in African AI Data Centers as Region Faces Cyberattacks and Plans for Spectrum Unification - October 2025
Nvidia Corporation has expanded its presence in Africa's digital infrastructure market with an investment in Cassava Technologies, deepening a partnership focused on rolling out AI-ready data centers across the continent. This development occurs as Microsoft's 2025 Digital Defense Report reveals a significant surge in AI-powered cyberattacks across Africa, with the continent becoming a "proving ground" for advanced threats including deepfakes. To support digital growth, Eastern Africa is planning a unified spectrum strategy to boost broadband access. The EAC and IGAD Secretariats are developing a joint regional roadmap for this purpose. This initiative followed a workshop in Kigali, Rwanda, where nine Eastern African countries agreed to fast-track regional spectrum harmonisation.
