17% of Nigerian Computer Users Affected by Cyber Crime in 2025, Says HP

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

Information technology company, HP said research conducted in May 2025 indicated that 17 per cent of Nigerian computer users were affected by Ransomware and other web-based threats.

It said the survey placed the country in the top five countries in the Middle East and Africa region experiencing a sharp rise in cyberthreats in 2025.

The research carried out by antivirus experts, Kaspersky, revealed users’ complaint about either waking up to find customers’ data leaked, or operations frozen, or their inbox flooded with ransom demands.

“As countries like Nigeria expands their digital economies, ransomware attacks are on the rise, particularly in the manufacturing, financial and government sectors. Limited cybersecurity awareness and resources leave many organizations vulnerable, and the region remains behind global hotspots,” Kaspersky said in a statement on the report.

The report noted that cybercriminals also tended to think that African countries were easier prey because they were more vulnerable.

The Managing Director of HP Southern Africa, Yesh Surjoodeen, said Monday that a single data breach by cyber criminals could inflict harrowing experience on a business, often leading to operational disruption, a loss of trust from customers and partners, and not to mention the financial impact for the company.

He noted that while organisations reel to manage response, the overall cost moves past the already expensive containment of the breach or covering for service disruptions – sometimes into millions of Naira.

He added that even when overall operations are only marginally affected, indirect issues can occur that require funding, including legal fees, public relations advisory, overtime for IT teams, and upgrading security systems.

“It is not a question of size. Businesses of all sizes are being targeted, and while many are seemingly aware of the rising threat, many aren’t able to allocate the cybersecurity budgets to match. Deloitte’s recent 2025 Cybersecurity landscape analysis in Nigeria has posited that no sector is immune to the threat, highlighting an urgent need for proactive security measures.

“It is for this reason that more organisations are relying on smart, predictive IT that can help lower operational risk through the built-in tools in their new and existing infrastructure to meet their needs,” Surjoodeen affirmed.

He propounded AI as a solution to cyber threats, saying was revolutionising digital security by embedding intelligent threat detection and response mechanisms directly to devices.

He explained that as more cyberterrorists used AI to manipulate their targets, IT companies were also using the same technology to combat these new threats.

Surjoodeen stated: “HP is able to use AI algorithms to continuously monitor system activity and network traffic across devices, identifying anomalies and suspicious patterns that may indicate a cyber threat. This proactive approach allows for immediate mitigation actions, reducing the risk of data breaches. Meanwhile, our AI systems are able to learn from user behaviour and historical threat data to dynamically adjust security settings. For example, if the system detects multiple failed login attempts, it can automatically tighten access controls. The fact that HP Wolf Security is now integrated across our product ranges means that our product lines exhibit robust encryption and secure boot processes, protecting against malwares, ransomwares, and other advanced threats.

“This forward-thinking approach to help build more user-friendly (and cost-effective) AI solutions has been at the core of the HP Workplace Experience (WXP) platform, helping to give IT teams greater knowledge and assistance so they can prioritise more strategic protection of assets and data”.

He urged Nigerian enterprises to lead in the fight against cybercriminals by employing the right tools, stressing every month HP Solutions remediated over 11 million IT issues, keeping employees productive and IT teams focused on strategic initiatives and their core business.