FX volatility, AI attacks raise Africa’s cybersecurity costs

Foreign exchange volatility, increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and tightening data protection requirements are raising the cost of cybersecurity for businesses across Africa, as organisations struggle to protect their expanding digital operations with limited financial and technical resources.

The growing pressure is forcing companies to reconsider how they procure and manage security infrastructure, particularly as many rely on foreign software platforms priced in dollars and euros, exposing their technology budgets to exchange rate fluctuations.

A report by Heirs Technologies, titled ‘Africa’s Cybersecurity Landscape 2026,’ found that more than 55 per cent of observed cybercrime cases across Africa now incorporate artificial intelligence, with attackers using the technology to automate phishing, impersonate individuals through deepfakes and steal digital authentication credentials.

The 48 pages report, which examines cybersecurity developments in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, said the increasing use of AI was making cyberattacks more sophisticated and difficult for businesses to detect, adding to the financial and operational risks associated with Africa’s digital expansion.

It cited global research showing that AI-generated phishing messages achieved click-through rates of up to 54 per cent, compared with 12 per cent for manually crafted attacks, indicating how automation and personalisation could make fraudulent messages more effective.

The growing threat comes against a backdrop of widespread exposure to cyber-enabled fraud. According to research cited in the report, 82 per cent of respondents in Sub-Saharan Africa said they or someone in their professional or personal networks had been affected by cyber-enabled fraud in the preceding 12 months.

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Beyond the direct costs of cyberattacks, foreign exchange exposure is creating another challenge for African businesses. Security software, cloud infrastructure and other specialised protection tools are often priced in foreign currencies, making procurement and maintenance more expensive when local currencies depreciate.

The report noted that currency instability was forcing some organisations to reduce the scope of security deployments or leave purchased tools underutilised, potentially creating gaps in their ability to identify and respond to threats.

Commenting on the findings, the Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Technologies, Obong Idiong, said Africa’s digital expansion needed to be supported by stronger security foundations.

“At Heirs Technologies, we believe Africa’s digital expansion must be built on an unshakeable foundation of trust and resilience. As cyberthreats become increasingly sophisticated, protecting this growth is essential to sustaining the continent’s digital transformation,” he said.

This cost pressure is occurring as governments strengthen regulations around data protection and the location of critical information. In Nigeria, enforcement of the Nigeria Data Protection Act and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive requiring domestic payment data to be hosted locally by January 1, 2027, is adding data sovereignty considerations to financial institutions’ technology and security decisions.

The requirements are pushing businesses to reassess their cloud infrastructure and consider hybrid architectures that allow them to balance operational flexibility with local data-hosting obligations.