... become. Victims lost an average of over $20,000 each, reflecting the serious financial impact of online fraud, hacking, and scams. Nigeria and South Africa's Position Among the countries affected, Nigeria and South Africa were listed among the top 20 nations with the highest number of cybercrime complaints. Although their figures are lower than countries like the United States, Canada, and ...

... a result, cybercrime is estimated to cost the South African economy more than R2.2 billion annually. Globally, the threat is even more alarming. According to World economic forum, Cybercrime and frauds is expected to cost $10.5 trillion world economy. According to data released from Africa Cyber threat perspective, South Africa accounts for over 40% of ransomware attacks on the African ...

... US Federal Bureau of Investigation released data showing that South Africa ranked 12th and Nigeria 14th globally for cybercrime complaints - the only two sub-Saharan African nations to appear in the top 20. It was a striking finding - not because of the volume, which remained lower than complaints filed from top-ranked countries like Canada, India, and Japan - but ...

... Assessment. In Southern Africa, South Africa is the largest cybercrime target because of its advanced digital technology. In West and East Africa - primarily Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire - it accounts for more than 30% of all reported crime, according to the assessment. Phishing scams (tricking victims into revealing personal information) are the most common ...

... Global cybercrime losses surged to a record $20.8 billion in 2025, with more than 1 million complaints filed, as Nigeria and South Africa ranked among countries flagged in the latest report by the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center Cybercrime losses reached a record $20.8 billion in 2025, marking a 26% increase from the previous year. Over 1 million cybercrime complaints ...

... One of the country's cyber security experts believes this type of crime is not taken seriously enough in South Africa. Thabo Johnson says cybercrime has increased dramatically since 2019. "Any interaction with different spheres of business, government or individual, is because the cyber-crime is not a physical crime and, therefore, people won't take it very seriously. "Our laws as well, ...

... can do about it For more information, email kycafrica.communication@ncino.com. South Africa's Sharpest Compliance Minds on One Stage The esteemed line-up of speakers brings together regulators, prosecutors, investigative journalists, cybercrime specialists, and compliance experts all focused on giving you insights you can act on immediately. * Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Investigative Journalist, Scorpio | Daily Maverick * Adv Carina Coetzee, Senior Public Prosecutor, ...

... control, encryption, and network monitoring may have contributed to the breach, pointing to broader challenges in safeguarding critical information. This latest incident adds to growing concerns about cybercrime in South Africa, where both public and private institutions are increasingly becoming targets of sophisticated hacking operations. Be the first to know - Join our WhatsApp Channel for content worth tapping into! ...

... to increase women's participation in science, technology, innovation and research. South Africa is also using technology to improve service delivery, strengthen governance and expand access to essential services. Letsike pointed to legislative frameworks, such as data protection and cybercrime laws aimed at safeguarding users, particularly vulnerable groups in an increasingly digital world. The Deputy Minister warned of the growing risks ...

... cybercrime. Speaking in August 2019, a month before the Johannesburg riots, Nigeria's High Commissioner to South Africa at the time, Ambassador Kabir Bala, disclosed that more than six thousand Nigerians were either in prison or under police investigation for various crimes in South Africa. If this goes to show that Ms. Pandor was right to refer to "the belief that ...

... technically take down those that have been spreading malicious lies about my name," he said. He suggested the claims are being driven by internal political battles. "I do know that it just comes from my own political detractors." While declining to name those responsible, Mako indicated that legal and cybercrime processes would be used to trace those behind the posts. ...

... and Corruption. Operational expenditures are predominantly for goods and services, and for machinery and equipment used to perform services, which together comprise less than 20% of the total budget in the 2026-27 financial year. Goods and services, and capital investment categories include the capacitation of the Hawks, crime intelligence, detective services, functionalities pertaining to cybercrime and specialised units. "We are ...

... The recent breach of Standard Bank's systems backs the argument for the unified, industry-led approach against fraud and other cybercrimes that the sector's watchdog has called for. The attack bears testament to the high-stakes game financial institutions must play to protect customer information, most importantly, their finances. Cyberattacks are a common feature of doing business in 2026, with digital security ...

... cyberattack meant lawyers couldn't access their own systems. Imagine the billable hours lost. Imagine the partners having to actually talk to their families because they couldn't log in. Pure unadulterated shock and mortifying horror. The 2026 Statistic - recent reports indicate that nearly 30% of law firms have experienced some form of security breach. Furthermore, cybercrime is projected to cost ...

... still have to prioritise whether recruitment or retraining is more urgent," he said. He added that part of the budget had also been allocated to combat cybercrime. "Lately, crime has been committed in cyberspace, where people are insulted and perpetrators cannot be easily identified. We want to allocate part of the budget to fight cybercrime, including training. We have no ...

... are not isolated events. "They reflect a broader shift towards credential theft, weakly protected cloud access, phishing, and the reuse of compromised data at scale." He says stolen login details are increasingly central to cybercrime, noting that "more than one million online banking accounts were compromised globally in 2025 by infostealers," creating what he describes as "a more persistent, quieter ...

... urban landscapes. Egypt, operating at an even more draconian scale, has normalised mass arrests under cybercrime and protest laws, transforming dissent into a security threat by definition, yet the continent also offers counterpoints that expose the contingency, not the inevitability, of repression. Ghana and South Africa, anchored by stronger constitutional protections and comparatively independent judiciaries, demonstrate how robust institutions can ...

... can do about it For more information, email kycafrica.communication@ncino.com. South Africa's Sharpest Compliance Minds on One Stage The esteemed line-up of speakers brings together regulators, prosecutors, investigative journalists, cybercrime specialists, and compliance experts all focused on giving you insights you can act on immediately. * Pieter-Louis Myburgh, Investigative Journalist, Scorpio | Daily Maverick * Adv Carina Coetzee, Senior Public Prosecutor, ...

... he explained. For his part, Antonios Christodoulou, CEO of Cyber Dexterity, reinforced the idea that the main entry point for attacks continues to be human behaviour. More than 90% of breaches originate from simple mistakes, such as clicking on a suspicious link or trusting a false identity. "Cybercrime has become one of the largest global economies because it exploits something ...

... Othelo Vieira Security has long been the budget line nobody wants to defend until the moment everyone has to: something to provision, quietly budget for and hope never demands a reckoning. That framing is shifting, and for resellers and channel partners, the shift matters. South Africa's threat environment is no longer theoretical. Interpol estimates that cybercrime costs the local economy ...