Africa Relinquishes Cyberattack Lead to Latin America — For Now

Why It Matters

The shift signals a maturing cybersecurity posture in Africa while exposing new vulnerabilities in rapidly digitizing Latin America, reshaping regional risk priorities for enterprises and policymakers.

Key Takeaways

• Check Point reports 22% drop in weekly attacks across Africa.
• Kenya and Morocco saw attack reductions exceeding 50%.
• Ethiopia experienced a 29% increase in cyber incidents.
• Latin America now leads with 3,050 weekly attacks.
• Kaspersky finds 41% of African devices infected with malware.

Pulse Analysis

The recent dip in African cyber incidents reflects both attacker migration and improved defensive measures. Check Point’s data shows a clear stabilization after a surge in 2025, with the continent’s weekly threat count falling to 2,700. While overall volume decreased, the nature of attacks shifted, with DDoS and vulnerability exploits receding, yet on‑device malware remains pervasive, underscoring the need for endpoint hardening and continuous threat‑hunts.

Latin America’s ascent as the most targeted region stems from accelerated digital transformation paired with lagging security investment. Healthcare and government sectors, in particular, present high‑value targets, attracting ransomware, espionage, and credential‑theft campaigns. Geopolitical tensions further fuel nation‑state activity, creating a complex threat landscape that demands robust incident‑response capabilities and cross‑border intelligence sharing.

For businesses operating across both continents, the divergent trends call for a nuanced risk‑management strategy. African firms can leverage the momentum of rising security maturity, investing in SOC development and staff training, while Latin American entities must prioritize security budgeting to close gaps exposed by rapid adoption of cloud and IoT technologies. Aligning with global threat‑intelligence platforms and adopting zero‑trust architectures will be critical to mitigate the evolving attack vectors in these dynamic markets.