Africa and Europe tackle rising cyber threats together

A journalist in Kenya tracking corruption learns her phone is being monitored. A woman in Nigeria hesitates to post online after weeks of harassment. A hospital in Uganda struggles to protect patient records from ransomware attacks. These aren't isolated incidents—they're symptoms of a digital security crisis reshaping how millions of Africans can work, speak, and participate.

Kenya's cyber-incident response team detected more than 4.5 billion cyber-attacks in just three months. That single statistic captures the scale: digital threats have moved from the margins of policy conversations into the everyday reality of journalists, activists, healthcare workers, and ordinary people trying to go about their lives online.

The gap between growth and protection

Africa's digital expansion is real. More services move online each year. More people connect. But the continent's cyber defenses haven't kept pace. Interpol's 2025 Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report documents a rising tide of intrusions from criminal groups and coordinated actors exploiting gaps in digital governance. Malware infections are climbing. Data breaches are multiplying. System-wide attacks now hit both large institutions and small community organisations.

The numbers tell part of the story. Africa has fewer than 25,000 certified cybersecurity professionals serving a population of over 1 billion. But the human cost matters more. Women face a particularly acute version of this problem. They're less likely to access the internet in the first place, then face higher rates of harassment once they do go online. That combination—lower access plus higher risk—creates a vicious cycle that pushes women away from digital spaces just as those spaces become essential for work, education, and civic life.

Reporters Without Borders has documented how journalists across the region increasingly face digital surveillance and online harassment alongside traditional intimidation. The spyware, the silent monitoring, the coordinated attacks—these aren't abstract threats. They directly undermine the ability to investigate corruption, hold power accountable, and tell stories that matter.

A partnership taking shape

When African Union and European Union leaders met in Luanda recently, cybersecurity dominated the digital sessions in a way it hadn't before. The gap between the two regions is stark. Europe has regulatory frameworks like the NIS2 Directive and institutional capacity built over years. Many African countries are still building their systems while threats accelerate. Financial aid helps, but it's not enough. Real partnership requires shared planning, shared standards, and sustained investment in long-term capacity.

Mathieu Briens, Director for Africa at the European External Action Service, explained that digital infrastructure work happens at continental, regional, and national levels depending on what African partners actually need. The point matters: this isn't Europe imposing solutions. It's about meeting countries where they are.

Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security for the African Union, brought the human dimension into focus. She described the hostility women face in digital spaces—attacks that intensify when they take leadership roles, pressure that silences many from speaking online at all. She also noted that the African Union has established networks to support women facing digital harm. That infrastructure exists. It needs strengthening and resourcing.

What comes next

Cybersafety influences who can speak, who can organize, who can work, and who can participate in public affairs. Without stronger protection, digital transformation will benefit only those already safe enough to use it. The partnership between Africa and Europe now carries a genuine opportunity to shape a safer, more inclusive digital future—but only if women, youth, journalists, and local communities remain at the center of the decisions being made.