E-Business
New Research from Trend Micro Shows Cyberattacks Relied on Substance Over Size in 2023
Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, has revealed that it blocked around 18 million email threats, almost two million malicious URLs and over four million malicious mobile apps targeted at Nigerian businesses and consumers between January and December 2023. This as threat actors deviate from big-batch attacks to focus on a narrower range of more lucrative targets.
These new patterns in the cybercrime landscape are highlighted in the Trend Micro 2023 Annual Cybersecurity Report, which presents highlights from the company’s telemetry covering the broadest attack surface view across millions of commercial and consumer clients.
“Our latest data shows that threat actors are fine-tuning their operations, shifting away from large-scale attacks, and instead focusing on a smaller range of targets but with higher victim profiles for maximum gain with minimum effort. As they continue to double down on tried and tested techniques, they are also delegating and streamlining operations — resulting in bolder, more effective strikes,” says Gareth Redelinghuys, Country Managing Director, African Cluster at Trend Micro.
Attacks focused on substance over quantity are more difficult to block
Though thousands of ransomware attacks were blocked by Trend Micro in Nigeria in 2023, year-on-year research shows that ransomware groups are working smarter instead of harder, prioritising high-value targets over volume.
There has been a general downward trend in ransomware detections, with worldwide detections from 2021 to 2023 averaging less than half of the recorded detections in 2020; however, this should not be misconstrued as a cue for security operations centres and decision-makers to lower their guards. Historically, ransomware attacks were launched in “bulk,” such as spam campaigns with malicious links, but attacks that focus on quantity can more easily be blocked.
What’s more, a continued increase in Trojan FRS threat detections globally could suggest that attackers are using more effective ways to evade preliminary detection by focusing on arrival and defense evasion techniques. Examples of this include Living-Off-The-Land Binaries and Scripts. Because these computer files are non-malicious in nature and local to the operating system, they can be used by threat actors to camouflage their attacks.
Last year, several ransomware families across the world were also observed maximising remote and intermittent encryption, as well as abusing unmonitored virtual machines to bypass Endpoint Detection and Response. Because there is less content used during intermittent encryption, for example, there is less chance of triggering detection.
Gangs are also launching bolder attacks: Prolific groups were some of the most active in 2023: Clop exploited major vulnerabilities, and BlackCat launched a new variant, while also making its extortion public by leveraging the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission’s four-day disclosure requirement to incentivise its victim to communicate more quickly with them.
Email threats – attackers are using more sophisticated ways to avoid detection
This trend towards threat actors opting for quality over quantity is equally present in the patterns observed around email threats. Though email threat detections in Nigeria decreased from more than 45 million in 2021 to 18 million in 2023, the increase in malware detection count over the same period suggests a shift in the threat landscape that finds attackers making use of more sophisticated ways to avoid detection.
Trend Micro’s data also shows a slight decrease in malicious URL detection in Nigeria from 2021 to 2023, indicating that instead of focusing on malicious links to randomly victimise users, criminals are using more targeted operations, such as BEC schemes, where emails are less likely to undergo scrutiny because of how legitimate they look.
Instead of launching attacks on a wider range of users and relying on victims clicking on malicious links in websites and emails, more sophisticated attacks are launched using specificity to trick a narrower field of high-profile victims. This also allows them to bypass early detection layers like network and email filters.
AI-powered phishing attempts are more convincing than ever
Over the course of 2023, AI showed great promise in social engineering attempts globally: its automation proved most useful in mining datasets for actionable information, while generative AI have made phishing on mass scale virtually effortless with error-free and convincing messages. The use of generative AI in phishing attempts is already branching beyond emails and texts to include persuasive audio and video ‘deepfakes’ for an even more business-affecting threat.
Imagine a company that requires live voice authorisation for purchases above a million dollars, for example. An attacker could send a real-seeming email request with a rigged phone number embedded and answer the confirmation call with a deepfaked voice to validate the transaction. These new tactics introduce the possibility of everything from stock market manipulations to democratic or wartime disinformation campaigns, or smear attacks on public figures.
The barriers to entry for techniques like these have fallen away radically with the rise of readily available app-style interfaces like HeyGen. Cybercriminals with no coding knowledge or special computing resources can produce customised high-resolution outputs that are humanly undetectable.
“Looking at the overall trend in decreasing ransomware threats, it might be tempting for local organisations to develop a false sense of security and lower their defenses. However, our research shows that these increasingly sophisticated attacks are going to become more and more difficult for businesses to detect and that they will be increasingly costly when they succeed. IT leaders must refine their processes and protocols to enable their defenses to combat persistence with efficiency,” concludes Zaheer Ebrahim, Solutions Architect, Middle East and Africa at Trend Micro.
Africa’s workforce is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) at a faster pace than global peers, but pressure is mounting for organisations to ramp up digital skills development as generative AI (GenAI) begins reshaping roles across industries.
This is according to PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2025, which shows a continent ready for AI-enabled transformation, but facing a narrowing window to prepare, through skills development initiatives.
The survey, covering nearly 50 000 workers worldwide and 1 753 across South Africa, Algeria, Kenya, Morocco and Nigeria, finds that African employees are already integrating AI into daily operations.
Sixty-four percent of respondents in Africa used AI tools in the past year, compared to 54% globally, and the sentiment is overwhelmingly positive. While only 17% report using GenAI every day, confidence in its benefits is high: 76% believe GenAI improves work quality, and 72% expect AI-driven productivity gains within three years.
In SA, executives are even more bullish, as 91% say AI has already lifted both productivity and work quality — a signal that leadership is pushing harder toward AI-enabled ways of working, notes the survey.
However, this optimism is coupled with rising concern about future readiness. Only 35% of African workers believe their skills will still be relevant three years from now. With GenAI expected to affect nearly half of all job roles, PwC warns that the continent’s workforce risks falling behind unless organisations accelerate large-scale reskilling.
Despite the pressures, employees are not standing still. PwC notes that African workers outperform their global peers in proactive learning, recording 15% higher participation in skills-building and receiving 6% more support from managers. This indicates that both workers and immediate supervisors recognise the pace of AI adoption and are pushing to adapt.
PwC Africa people and organisation leader, Dr Dayalan Govender, says the moment calls for decisive leadership. Organisations, he argues, must integrate AI into workforce strategies, accelerate digital adoption, and expand upskilling programmes at scale.
“Africa’s workforce is optimistic and ready for change, but leaders must accelerate digital adoption and invest in future-ready skills to convert this optimism into sustainable growth,” he says.
Beyond the technology shift, the survey captures a workforce hungry for growth but constrained by financial pressure. Many employees are preparing to make career moves: 45% plan to request a raise, and another 45% aim for a promotion in the next year. Yet household financial stability remains strained, with only a third of respondents reporting any money left over for savings.
Still, Africa’s workplaces continue to show strong foundations of trust and purpose — elements PwC believes will be critical in navigating GenAI disruption. More than 55% of workers trust management, and two-thirds say their work feels meaningful, both above global averages.
With AI adoption rising and employees motivated to reinvent their careers, PwC warns that the coming years will determine whether Africa’s early optimism translates into long-term competitiveness as GenAI transforms the world of work.
The report calls for embedding AI into workforce strategies to bridge the gap between optimism and practical adoption, scaling upskilling initiatives to prepare for GenAI disruption, and fostering trust and psychological safety to retain talent and drive innovation.
“For employers, these findings are a stark reminder that they can and should do more to help workers understand, adopt, and embrace AI’s transformative power.
“Employers may need to pay special attention to entry-level workers, nearly a third of whom say they’re worried to a large or very large extent about AI’s impact on their future, even as they’re also curious (47%) and optimistic (38%) about its long-term societal effects,” notes the report.
Nigerian organisations are facing the highest volume of weekly cyberattacks in Africa, according to the newly released African Perspectives on Cyber Security Report 2025 by Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global leader in cybersecurity solutions.
The report revealed that Nigerian firms experience an average of 4,200 attacks per week, significantly higher than the continental average of 3,153 and 60 per cent above the global average of 1,963 attacks per organisation.
The findings highlight a sharp rise in attacks across Africa, driven largely by artificial intelligence-enabled threats.
Kingsley Oseghale, country manager for West Africa at Check Point, said attackers are increasingly using AI to automate phishing, impersonation, and cloud exploitation.
“AI has become part of the attack surface,” Oseghale said. “Attackers are using it to automate phishing and identity theft at scale. The only effective response is prevention-first security that combines visibility, governance, and AI protection.”
The report noted that cybercriminals are exploiting exposed identities and misconfigured systems to target critical sectors, including finance, energy, telecoms, and government.
Identity-led intrusions, AI-generated phishing campaigns, and multi-vector ransomware are on the rise.
Across the continent, Check Point identified key trends in different markets. Nigeria is experiencing business email compromise and cloud exploitation; South Africa faces rising ransomware, smishing, and botnet infections such as Vo1d and XorDDoS; Kenya has seen ransomware targeting critical energy infrastructure; and Morocco has experienced coordinated government and education-sector disruptions via DDoS and website defacement attacks.
The report highlights five major shifts shaping Africa’s cyber risk in 2025.
Traditional ransomware has evolved into data-leak extortion, AI-generated deception is widespread, and identity has emerged as the new security perimeter.
Weak cybersecurity, the report warned, can now affect international market access under regulations such as the EU’s NIS2 Directive, making digital resilience an economic necessity.
The study urged African businesses and governments to adopt prevention-first security strategies, including continuous risk assessment, regulatory readiness, and public-private collaboration.
Oseghale emphasised that, as AI reshapes operations, cybersecurity must shift from reaction to prediction.
“The real challenge is not adopting new technology but securing the trust that underpins it,” he said.
As Black Friday 2025 unfolds across Nigeria, new insights from Jumia’s Q3 2025 financial results reveal that more Nigerians are relying on digital retail to navigate inflation and rising living costs.
The data points to a more deliberate, value-driven shopper, one using online platforms to stretch budgets, compare options quickly, and extract more value from each purchase.
Jumia reported a 30 percent year-on-year increase in physical goods orders, while Gross Merchandise Value for physical goods rose by 43 percent.
This stronger GMV growth highlights a clear behavioural shift: consumers are assembling higher-value baskets by combining essentials with premium or long-term household items. Online retail is serving as a tool for strategic planning, not just convenience.
According to Temidayo Ojo, Chief Executive Officer of Jumia Nigeria, Black Friday now plays a more critical economic role. “Households are using digital retail to defend purchasing power. They plan their lists, compare prices instantly, and rely on the reliability and convenience that e-commerce offers,” he said.
This year’s Black Friday trends show growing demand in categories that directly support daily living. Household essentials and FMCG products are seeing significant uptake as families stock up during price drops. Home and kitchen equipment is also experiencing stronger demand as shoppers prioritise practical, durable tools. Affordable fashion and beauty products are gaining momentum as discounts make them more accessible.
Consumer behaviour in the lead-up to the sales period further reinforces this shift. Jumia recorded a notable increase in “Add to Wishlist” and “Add to Cart” activity, signalling more planning and fewer impulse purchases. The gap between GMV and order growth indicates that customers are optimising baskets using bundles, vouchers, and promo combinations, behaviours uniquely suited to digital platforms.
With inflation intensifying the need for smarter buying, trust markers on Jumia, such as verified sellers, official brand stores, ratings, and clear return policies, are becoming more central to decision-making. Authenticity and durability now outweigh the appeal of the lowest price.
Jumia’s logistics footprint is making these benefits available nationwide. Its 30,000 sqm Isolo fulfilment centre, 480 pickup stations, and 62 logistics partners ensure that customers in secondary and peri-urban cities enjoy the same deals as those in major hubs, reducing travel burdens and adding financial value.
Overall, Jumia’s Q3 data and Black Friday trends show that Nigerians are turning to digital retail as a practical, strategic response to inflation, using e-commerce to manage budgets, preserve purchasing power, and make more informed buying decisions.
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