Report: Nigeria Experiences 23 Million Email Account Breaches Since 2004

Nigeria's Email Breach Statistics

• Total Breaches: Since 2004, Nigeria has experienced 23,268,560 breaches in email accounts, representing 0.1% of the global total of 23 billion breaches.
• Global Ranking: Nigeria ranks 55th globally in terms of email breaches, with 73 million additional personal records breached during the same period.

Significant Breaches

• Major Incidents: Notable breaches include the Addka incident affecting 2,558,859 Nigerian accounts, Wattpad impacting 1,553,032 accounts, and 1win affecting 618,528 accounts.
• Recent Trends: In the decade from 2015 to 2025, Nigeria recorded 12,973,853 breaches, which is 56.5% of the total breaches over three decades.

Recent Developments

• Decrease in Breaches: A significant drop of 73% in breaches was observed from Q1 2025 (119,961 breaches) to Q2 2025 (31,805 breaches), indicating improved cybersecurity efforts.
• Cyberattack Patterns: The highest number of breaches in recent years occurred in Q2 2020 (3.6 million) and Q3 2024 (2.8 million).

Cybersecurity Landscape in Africa

• Regional Rankings: South Sudan leads Africa with 93,250,909 breaches, followed by South Africa (42,795,233) and Egypt (25,928,441). Nigeria is fourth in Africa and 55th globally.
• Other West African Breaches: Côte D’Ivoire (5,912,899), Ghana (5,270,783), and Cameroon (4,512,589) are among other West African countries with significant breaches.

Global Cyberattack Trends

• Worldwide Breaches: The global total of breached accounts has reached 23.1 billion, with the U.S. leading at 4.4 billion, followed by Russia (3.3 billion) and China (1.9 billion).
• Cyber Threats in Africa: A report indicated that 131.6 million web threats were detected in Africa in 2024, highlighting the increasing risks of cyberattacks.

Cyberattack Statistics by Region

• Weekly Cyberattacks: In July 2025, Nigeria recorded an average of 6,101 cyberattacks weekly, with Africa experiencing the highest number of attacks globally.
• Comparative Data: The Asia-Pacific region followed with 2,809 attacks, while Latin America, Europe, and North America recorded 2,783, 1,626, and 1,380 attacks respectively.