AGCG Watch Note – Regional Analysis Based on International Sources (INTERPOL, Group-IB, Kaspersky, MITRE, UNDP).
Topic : Cyber Geopolitics, Regional Threats, Central Africa
Firm : AGCG Genuine Consulting Group
Central Africa is facing a simultaneous intensification of opportunistic attacks (phishing, spyware, ransomware) and more sophisticated operations targeting its critical infrastructures (energy, telecom, government).
The regional context — fragmented IT systems, mobile money dependency, limited institutional capacities — makes it a prime target for cybercriminals and APT groups.
The report Africa Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2025 from INTERPOL highlights a notable acceleration of cyber threats in Africa. Central Africa — Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC, Chad, CAR, Equatorial Guinea — is facing a rare combination of high exposure and limited capabilities.
Rapid digitalization, vulnerable critical infrastructures, mobile money dependency, low SecOps maturity: these are factors that amplify opportunities for cybercriminals and APT groups.
Analyses from Group-IB and Mandiant show a significant rise in ransomware attacks in the MEA region (+60 to +70%).
The most targeted sectors in Central Africa:
The lack of incident response capabilities increases downtime, amplifying the economic and operational impact.
INTERPOL’s operations, including Operation Serengeti, reveal the growing importance of digital scams: BEC, financial fraud, sextortion, phishing targeting mobile money.
The most common patterns:
The lack of strong authentication and low regional awareness contribute to the rapid expansion of these attacks.
Reports from Kaspersky Cyberthreat Landscape show a continuous increase in web attacks: phishing, spyware, banking trojans, infostealers targeting businesses.
For organizations: deploying appropriate EDR/XDR solutions tailored to local constraints and strengthening digital hygiene is imperative.
Several analyses (Group-IB, MITRE ATT&CK) observe an intensification of espionage operations and advanced attacks (APT) targeting critical infrastructures in Central Africa: energy, telecom, public institutions.
These operations, less visible than ransomware, represent a strategic risk: political stability, continuity of public services, digital sovereignty.
These factors create a very favorable environment for malicious actors, from opportunistic cybercrime to international APT groups.
"Central Africa is one of the regions where the gap between cyber exposure and defense capabilities is the highest in the world."
— AGCG Genuine Consulting Group
Cyber threats in Central Africa are rapidly accelerating, fueled by the combination of intense digitalization, limited institutional capacities and fragmented IT ecosystems.
For public and private organizations in the region, the priority is to build adapted SecOps capabilities, strengthen identity & messaging security, and invest massively in awareness.
Cyber mastery is not just a technical issue — it is a pillar of stability, sovereignty, and economic development for Central Africa.