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Rabat – Africa is becoming a hotspot for cyberattacks, with Morocco, Kenya, and South Africa emerging as the most affected countries, according to a recent report by NETSCOUT Systems.
Morocco under heavy cyber fire
During the first half of 2025, Morocco recorded more than 75,000 Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, ranking second on the continent behind South Africa, which faced 213,000 incidents. Kenya followed with over 46,000 cases.
The report notes that Morocco’s telecommunications and research and development sectors were the primary targets, reflecting attackers’ growing focus on critical infrastructure.
Global surge in DDoS attacks
On a global scale, cyberattacks surpassed 8 million in just six months, with Europe, the Middle East, and Africa bearing the heaviest burden at 3.2 million incidents.
The maximum recorded attack speed reached 3.12 terabits per second.
NETSCOUT also pointed to the role of major political events in triggering spikes in attacks. Switzerland, for instance, was heavily targeted during the World Economic Forum held in Davos, while Italy continued to face assaults linked to local political debates.
Algeria’s hacker group Jabaroot has become emblematic of the relentless cyber offensives against Morocco, with its large-scale leaks causing repercussions far beyond technical disruption.
In the wake of the April 8 attack, which exposed sensitive data from nearly 500,000 companies and two million employees, Morocco’s National Social Security Fund (CNSS) was forced to act.
The institution has since launched an international tender worth MAD 40 million ($4 million) to reinforce its cybersecurity defenses.
Beyond disrupting services and compromising sensitive data, their campaigns have fueled political tensions, eroded public trust in digital platforms, and exposed vulnerabilities in national infrastructure.
The findings raise concerns about the resilience of Africa’s digital infrastructure at a time when countries such as Morocco are expanding connectivity and digitizing key industries.
Experts say the scale of recent attacks highlights the urgent need for governments and businesses to invest in advanced defensive systems capable of countering large-scale, politically motivated cyber threats.
