Data Breaches in Nigeria: 150,000 Accounts Compromised in First Half of 2025
A new report from the cybersecurity firm Surfshark reveals that over 150,000 Nigerian accounts were compromised in the first half of 2025. While this number is alarmingly high, there is a glimmer of hope: data breaches fell by a significant 73% between the first and second quarters, dropping from 120,000 to 31,800 incidents.
Despite this positive trend, the sheer volume of affected accounts highlights Nigeria’s ongoing vulnerability in the digital world. As Surfshark’s Product Manager, Sarunas Sereika, noted, in the wrong hands, this stolen data can be used for things like identity theft, scams, or sold on the dark web.
Nigeria’s Cybersecurity Standing
Third in Sub-Saharan Africa: Since 2004, Nigeria has seen 23.3 million breached accounts, making it the third most affected country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Widespread Password Leaks: Of those accounts, around 13 million had their passwords leaked. This puts more than half of all affected users (56%) at high risk of having their accounts taken over, being extorted, or having their identity stolen.
One in Ten Nigerians Affected: The report calculates that statistically, 10 out of every 100 Nigerians have been impacted by a data breach at some point, underscoring the scale of the problem.
Global Trends and Evolving Threats
Globally, the situation is different, with the number of leaked accounts jumping by 34% in the second quarter of 2025. The United States, France, India, Germany, and Israel were the most affected countries.
Cybersecurity experts from Surfshark warn that attackers are constantly evolving their tactics. To stay safe, they recommend:
Strong security practices
Frequent password updates
Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) for all your accounts
How the Data Was Collected
Surfshark’s findings are based on a meticulous process of collecting and anonymizing data from over 29,000 publicly available databases. The report treats each unique email address as a separate account, with many breaches also exposing other sensitive information like phone numbers, passwords, IP addresses, and zip codes. The findings exclude countries with populations under one million to ensure a more accurate statistical overview of the threat landscape.
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