More than 150,000 Nigerians had their online accounts compromised in the first half of 2025, according to a new report from cybersecurity company Surfshark.
The report, released this week, shows that while data breaches sharply dropped in Nigeria between the first and second quarters, falling from 120,000 to about 31,800 incidents, the country still faces a major threat to digital privacy. Surfshark’s product manager, Sarunas Sereika, warned, “Today’s digital age requires all of us to share more and more personal information to carry out daily tasks. In the wrong hands, this data can be used to commit identity theft, for targeted scams, or sold on the dark web.”
Nigeria now ranks as the third most affected country in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a total of 23.3 million accounts breached since 2004. According to Surfshark, about 13 million of these accounts included leaked passwords, exposing users to risks like account takeover and identity theft, while another 7.3 million unique Nigerian email addresses have appeared in leaks. The data means 10 out of every 100 Nigerians have been affected by a breach at some point, stressing urgent need for better online safeguards.
Globally, the situation isn’t much better. The number of leaked accounts worldwide jumped by 34% in the second quarter, reaching 94 million cases. The United States saw the most breaches, followed by France, India, Germany, and Israel.
Security experts at Surfshark advise Nigerians to update passwords frequently and use two-factor authentication whenever possible. They collected their findings by analyzing 29,000 public databases, making sure to anonymize all personal details before review.
Securing personal data today remains a challenge, as digital services become a bigger part of everyday life. The recent decline in Nigerian breaches is welcome development, but cybersecurity remains a pressing issue, one that requires constant attention from users, businesses, and government.
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