Market News

At least 119,000 user accounts in Nigeria have already been breached in 2025, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Surfshark, highlighting ongoing concerns over data security despite a global decline in breaches.

The report places Nigeria third in Sub-Saharan Africa for the highest number of total breaches since 2004, with over 23.2 million compromised accounts. Although data breaches in the country dropped by 85% between the last quarter of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, Surfshark warns that cyberthreats remain significant.

“A data breach means that an intruder copied and leaked user data such as names, surnames, email addresses, passwords, etc.,” the company explained.

Despite the decline, an average of one Nigerian account has been leaked every minute so far this year. The report revealed that 7.3 million of the breached accounts were tied to unique email addresses, suggesting that many users’ data has been compromised more than once. Additionally, approximately 13 million passwords were leaked alongside those email addresses.

This has placed about 56% of affected Nigerians at heightened risk of identity theft, extortion, account takeovers, or other cybercrimes. Statistically, 10 out of every 100 Nigerians have suffered a data breach.

Globally, 280 accounts are breached per 100 people, while Nigeria ranks 54th for total breaches in the first quarter of 2025. The analysis also noted that 94 unique email addresses per 100 Nigerians have been exposed over time.

One of the most significant recent breaches occurred in September 2024, when a hacker known as Addka72424 leaked 3.3 billion email addresses globally, including over 2.5 million Nigerian accounts. The hacker called it a “small experiment” to expose the extent of personal data freely available online.

Although the number of data breaches has declined globally—dropping 93% year-on-year from 973.7 million in Q1 2024 to just 68.3 million in Q1 2025—Surfshark urged caution.

“Cyberthreats continue to evolve, and attackers are constantly adapting their tactics,” said Luís Costa, Research Lead at Surfshark.

He advised individuals and organisations to adopt stronger cybersecurity practices, including regularly updating passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and staying informed about emerging threats.