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Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria Top Cyber Threat Incidents In West Africa – Report

Published

1 year ago

November 6, 2024

Ghana has led the West African region in both the frequency and diversity of cyber threats for the first half of 2024, facing a high volume of distributed denial of service attacks directed at industries, including computer services and telecommunications, says NETSCOUT’s 1H2024 Distributed Denial of Service Threat Intelligence Report released on the company’s website on Tuesday.

According to the report, Ghana has experienced the highest volume of cyber attacks in West Africa, with the maximum bandwidth of its largest DDoS attack measuring 314.25 Mbps, a total of 4,753 attacks over six months, out of which 2,759 were targeted at computer-related services businesses; while the Republic of Guinea follows with 2,918 cases, with Nigeria coming third place with 2,721 cases of cyber threats.

The report partly read, “Ghana experienced by far the highest volume attack in West Africa, with the maximum bandwidth of its largest DDoS attack measuring 314.25 Mbps. Known for an economic resilience that is driven by agriculture and mining, Guinea surprisingly took the second spot in the NETSCOUT results for West Africa in terms of attack frequency, with 2,918 incidents listed. Wireless telecommunications carriers bore the brunt of these strikes, which were mostly TCP-type attacks.

“Nigeria, a major digital hub in Africa, experienced the third highest volume of cyberattacks in West Africa, coming in at 2,721 for the first half of 2024. Attacks in the computer-related services field were prevalent, as in Ghana, with 867 incidents, but local beauty salons were second on the list for Nigeria, enduring 206 incidents, followed by data processing hosting companies at 116.

“The growing complexity of DDoS threats seen worldwide, including a notable increase in both attack frequency and sophistication, is reflected in Nigeria. The country experienced more complex attacks than others within the region, with 23 different attacks vendors seen in one single attack, from TCP and CLDAP (Connection-less Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) attacks to Domain Name System (DNS) amplification and many more”, states Bryan Hamman, regional director for Africa at NETSCOUT.

“Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia both faced similar attack frequencies, with 1,598 and 1,515 incidents noted respectively. The two countries also experienced similarities in the types of attack vectors used – mostly TCP-related – as well as the sector that was hardest hit, which was wireless telecommunications for both.”

The report stressed that wireless telecommunications carriers were identified as the prime targets for threat actors in the Republic of Benin, recording 196 incidents, 107 in Senegal, 32 in Mali, and 16 in Cameroon.

The Regional Director for Africa at NETSCOUT, Bryan Hamman, noted the report “Is in line with NETSCOUT’s Global Threat Intelligence Report figures, which measured attacks on the sector at 834,471 for the first part of 2024, a substantial 34% increase on the figures seen for 2H 2023, which was calculated at 622,295. We believe this points to an objective by cybercriminals to disrupt critical communication infrastructure.”

Interestingly, although Cameroon fell more within the middle of the pack in terms of attack frequency, at 544, its largest DDoS attack reached 118.05 Gbps in bandwidth, much higher than the statistics seen for Senegal (27.31 Gbps) for instance, Guinea (12.35 Gbps) or Mali (0.81 Gbps).

He added, “In some cases, as seen by Cameroon and Ghana as well as Nigeria (134.86 Gbps), attack volumes can reach more than 100 Gbps, requiring upstream providers to mitigate the attack. Although many smaller attacks, such as those around 1Gbps, often bypass detection and mitigation by upstream providers due to being below-configured thresholds, they can still have a severe impact on enterprises.

“Statistics from NETSCOUT’s latest report show that generally, countries within West Africa have not been as heavily targeted as the likes of Morocco in the north of the continent, or South Africa in the SADC region. The latter falls within the top five most targeted countries within the entire Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.

“This being said, we are certainly seeing variabilities in attack types and targets across West Africa, reinforcing the need for country-specific cyber defences and resilient strategies to protect these growing digital economies. While the West African threat landscape cybersecurity challenges may align in many areas with worldwide trends, the nuances in each country’s threat landscape highlight the importance of localised security strategies to protect both critical and emerging digital infrastructures.

“NETSCOUT’s Threat Intelligence Report provides essential insights to help West African organisations bolster their cybersecurity defences. By leveraging these findings, businesses across the region can effectively mitigate these evolving threats and secure their digital ecosystems.”

Related Topics:#Nigeria Africa Ghana West Africa

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FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

15 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

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Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

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Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record

Published

16 hours ago

November 29, 2025

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Romania’s defence minister resigned on Friday after saying he made a “mistake” on his CV about his university education, as controversy swirled over alleged lies on his resume.

Ionut Mosteanu – who has admitted to writing on his CV that he graduated from a university he never attended – said he did not want the row “to distract” the NATO member at a time when it and Europe are “under attack from Russia”.

Romania has repeatedly seen drone fragments fall on its soil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and reported a number of drone incursions.

On Tuesday, a drone crashed in eastern Romania, which borders Ukraine.

Romania has also accused Moscow of “hybrid attacks”, including meddling in presidential elections last year that were subsequently annulled.

“Today, I resigned from my position as minister of national defence,” Mosteanu said in a Facebook post, adding he wanted the country to be focused on its “difficult mission”.

“Romania and Europe are under attack from Russia. Our national security must be defended at all costs,” he added.

Mosteanu had come under pressure after a media investigation published on Thursday revealed that he wrote in a CV that he graduated from a university which he did not actually attend.

That same day he apologised for what he called “a mistake”.

“In a CV I quickly put together in 2016 using a template I found online, there is a mistake that I admit embarrasses me. I didn’t pay much attention to these details at the time,” he said on Facebook.

Mosteanu was appointed defence minister in June of this year, when a new pro-European government was formed after months of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said in a press release that he would propose economy and tourism minister Radu Miruta take over the defence portfolio in the interim.

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Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

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Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.