Nigeria encountered a sweeping escalation in cyber threats in the third quarter of this year, as data breaches affecting Nigerian entities rose by an extraordinary 1,047 per cent compared to the previous quarter.
Findings from the newly released Eagle’s Eyes Q3 2025 cybersecurity report, released yesterday, showed that the country logged an average of 6,101 attacks per week in July, a pace that continued through the quarter and marked a turning point in the volume and sophistication of attacks targeting high-value institutions, especially in the fintech sector.
The report’s analysis indicated a decisive shift in how attackers gained access to corporate environments. Instead of exploiting technical vulnerabilities, adversaries are increasingly entering systems using valid credentials, often harvested from previous data leaks or left active long after employees have departed. Digital forensics conducted by esentry uncovered numerous cases in which dormant service accounts, stale identity tokens, and overlooked access rights enabled intruders to stealthily gain network access, establish persistence, and prepare for large-scale data extraction without raising immediate suspicion.
This transformation in attack patterns marked a clear departure from the opportunistic hacking that characterised earlier years. Attackers treated identity as the new point of entry, studying trust relationships and exploiting internal access pathways that organisations had not fully secured. Nigerian
Source: https://guardian.ng/news/cyber-criminals-attack-nigeria-as-breaches-hit-1047-in-q3/
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"id": "CLO1764735412",
"linkid": "cloudspace-technologies-ltd",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2025",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'incident': {'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': None,
'industry': 'Financial Services',
'location': 'Nigeria',
'name': None,
'size': None,
'type': 'Fintech Institutions'}],
'attack_vector': 'Valid Credentials (Harvested from Previous '
'Leaks or Dormant Accounts)',
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': None,
'data_exfiltration': True,
'file_types_exposed': None,
'number_of_records_exposed': None,
'personally_identifiable_information': None,
'sensitivity_of_data': None,
'type_of_data_compromised': None},
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-10-01',
'description': 'Nigeria experienced a 1,047% increase in data '
'breaches in Q3 2025, with an average of 6,101 '
'attacks per week. Attackers shifted tactics to '
'exploit valid credentials, dormant service '
'accounts, and stale identity tokens to gain '
'stealthy access to high-value institutions, '
'particularly in the fintech sector.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': None,
'conversion_rate_impact': None,
'customer_complaints': None,
'data_compromised': True,
'downtime': None,
'financial_loss': None,
'identity_theft_risk': True,
'legal_liabilities': None,
'operational_impact': None,
'payment_information_risk': None,
'revenue_loss': None,
'systems_affected': None},
'initial_access_broker': {'backdoors_established': True,
'data_sold_on_dark_web': None,
'entry_point': 'Valid Credentials '
'(Harvested from '
'Previous Leaks or '
'Dormant Accounts)',
'high_value_targets': 'Fintech '
'Institutions',
'reconnaissance_period': None},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'lessons_learned': 'Attackers are increasingly exploiting '
'identity and trust relationships rather than '
'technical vulnerabilities. Organizations '
'must secure dormant accounts, stale tokens, '
'and overlooked access rights to prevent '
'stealthy intrusions.',
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': None,
'root_causes': ['Exploitation of '
'valid credentials '
'(harvested from '
'previous leaks or '
'dormant accounts)',
'Dormant service '
'accounts and stale '
'identity tokens',
'Overlooked access '
'rights and trust '
'relationships']},
'ransomware': {'data_encryption': None,
'data_exfiltration': None,
'ransom_demanded': None,
'ransom_paid': None,
'ransomware_strain': None},
'recommendations': ['Audit and deactivate dormant service '
'accounts and stale identity tokens.',
'Enforce strict access controls and '
'least-privilege principles.',
'Monitor trust relationships and internal '
'access pathways for suspicious activity.',
'Conduct regular digital forensics to detect '
'stealthy intrusions.'],
'references': [{'date_accessed': '2025-10-01',
'source': 'Eagle’s Eyes Q3 2025 Cybersecurity '
'Report',
'url': None}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'fines_imposed': None,
'legal_actions': None,
'regulations_violated': None,
'regulatory_notifications': None},
'response': {'adaptive_behavioral_waf': None,
'communication_strategy': None,
'containment_measures': None,
'enhanced_monitoring': None,
'incident_response_plan_activated': None,
'law_enforcement_notified': None,
'network_segmentation': None,
'on_demand_scrubbing_services': None,
'recovery_measures': None,
'remediation_measures': None,
'third_party_assistance': 'esentry (Digital '
'Forensics)'},
'title': 'Surge in Cyber Threats Targeting Nigerian Entities in '
'Q3 2025',
'type': ['Data Breach', 'Credential Theft'],
'vulnerability_exploited': ['Dormant Service Accounts',
'Stale Identity Tokens',
'Overlooked Access Rights']}}