A Looming Fraud Epidemic Forces African Cybersecurity Into Sharper Focus

Africa’s scintillating tech startup scene has, of late, been dulled by a grim string of events. Though the nascent landscape effectively retains its enchantment, overlapping episodes of illicit activities rock the continent’s very cradle of digitization: fintech. 

Resultantly, some of the region’s biggest champions, unicorns inclusive, are currently entangled in a newly spawned web too stubborn to be vacuumed overnight. The watchword? Cybercrime.

Per a report by Kenya-based cybersecurity firm Serianu, cybercrime costs Africa an annual estimate of USD 4.12 B. In 2017, the continent’s economies bled some USD 3.5 B, with Nigeria and Kenya losing USD 649 M and USD 210 M to the said year’s internet rampage. Meanwhile, South Africa loses no less than USD 157 M to cyberattacks every year.