In Africa, Nigeria was the second country with the highest number of data breaches in the first quarter of 2023. And globally, the country took the 32nd position.
A report released by Surfshark, a cybersecurity company, earlier this month showed that 82,000 email accounts were leaked in Nigeria from January to March 2023.
This number of total breached accounts, according to the company, is 46 percent higher than it was in the first quarter of last year.
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FIJ obtained a table from the company, which shows that South Sudan was the most breached country in Africa within the period, followed by Nigeria and Egypt.
While South Sudan had 169,259 breached accounts, Nigeria had N82,000 breached accounts and Egypt had 64,750.
ISO Alpha-2 | Region | Country | Population | 2023’Q1 Breached accounts | Rank in Africa |
SS | Africa | South Sudan | 11,193,725 | 169,259 | 1 |
ZA | Africa | South Africa | 59,308,690 | 29,055 | 6 |
EG | Africa | Egypt | 102,334,404 | 64,750 | 3 |
NG | Africa | Nigeria | 206,139,589 | 82,278 | 2 |
SD | Africa | Sudan | 43,849,260 | 1,919 | 21 |
MA | Africa | Morocco | 36,910,560 | 60,138 | 4 |
DZ | Africa | Algeria | 43,851,044 | 11,253 | 9 |
KE | Africa | Kenya | 53,771,296 | 3,116 | 15 |
TN | Africa | Tunisia | 11,818,619 | 35,558 | 5 |
CD | Africa | Congo DR | 89,561,403 | 3,884 | 12 |
GH | Africa | Ghana | 31,072,940 | 1,637 | 23 |
CM | Africa | Cameroon | 26,545,863 | 3,129 | 14 |
SO | Africa | Somalia | 15,893,222 | 1,194 | 28 |
ZW | Africa | Zimbabwe | 14,862,924 | 1,290 | 26 |
SN | Africa | Senegal | 16,743,927 | 2,473 | 17 |
CI | Africa | Ivory Coast | 26,378,274 | 4,650 | 11 |
UG | Africa | Uganda | 45,741,007 | 880 | 32 |
GQ | Africa | Equatorial Guinea | 1,402,985 | 809 | 37 |
TZ | Africa | Tanzania | 59,734,218 | 880 | 32 |
MU | Africa | Mauritius | 1,271,768 | 19,702 | 8 |
NE | Africa | Niger | 24,206,644 | 1,106 | 30 |
TF | Africa | French Southern Territories | 300 | 2,084 | 19 |
ET | Africa | Ethiopia | 114,963,588 | 1,688 | 22 |
LY | Africa | Libya | 6,871,292 | 1,531 | 24 |
AO | Africa | Angola | 32,866,272 | 992 | 31 |
ZM | Africa | Zambia | 18,383,955 | 1,110 | 29 |
BW | Africa | Botswana | 2,351,627 | 417 | 46 |
MZ | Africa | Mozambique | 31,255,435 | 2,445 | 18 |
NA | Africa | Namibia | 2,540,905 | 722 | 39 |
ST | Africa | São Tomé and Príncipe | 219,159 | 491 | 44 |
ML | Africa | Mali | 20,250,833 | 4,967 | 10 |
BJ | Africa | Benin | 12,123,200 | 812 | 36 |
YT | Africa | Mayotte | 272,815 | 317 | 53 |
RE | Africa | Réunion | 895,312 | 20,880 | 7 |
SC | Africa | Seychelles | 98,347 | 2,978 | 16 |
MG | Africa | Madagascar | 27,691,018 | 1,507 | 25 |
RW | Africa | Rwanda | 12,952,218 | 1,276 | 27 |
GA | Africa | Gabon | 2,225,734 | 2,066 | 20 |
BF | Africa | Burkina Faso | 20,903,273 | 3,401 | 13 |
GN | Africa | Guinea | 13,132,795 | 813 | 35 |
TG | Africa | Togo | 8,278,724 | 621 | 42 |
MW | Africa | Malawi | 19,129,952 | 413 | 47 |
GM | Africa | Gambia | 2,416,668 | 321 | 52 |
DJ | Africa | Djibouti | 988,000 | 340 | 51 |
SL | Africa | Sierra Leone | 7,976,983 | 766 | 38 |
LR | Africa | Liberia | 5,057,681 | 650 | 41 |
CF | Africa | Central African Republic | 4,829,767 | 852 | 34 |
CV | Africa | Cabo Verde | 555,987 | 498 | 43 |
MR | Africa | Mauritania | 4,649,658 | 352 | 50 |
KM | Africa | Comoros | 869,601 | 353 | 49 |
LS | Africa | Lesotho | 2,142,249 | 232 | 56 |
SZ | Africa | Eswatini | 1,160,164 | 179 | 60 |
CG | Africa | Congo | 5,518,087 | 659 | 40 |
TD | Africa | Chad | 16,425,864 | 448 | 45 |
BI | Africa | Burundi | 11,890,784 | 235 | 55 |
ER | Africa | Eritrea | 3,546,421 | 401 | 48 |
GW | Africa | Guinea-Bissau | 1,968,001 | 242 | 54 |
SH | Africa | Saint Helena | 6,077 | 185 | 58 |
IO | Africa | British Indian Ocean Territory | 3,500 | 182 | 59 |
EH | Africa | Western Sahara | 597,339 | 225 | 57 |
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Surfshark also revealed that those whose data were compromised risked being targeted by cybercriminals as their personal information could be used for phishing attacks, fraud, identity theft and other serious cybercrimes.
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