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Nigeria and Mali emerged as the primary targets of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks in West Africa during the second half of 2024, according to NETSCOUT’s latest Threat Intelligence Report. The report, which analyses global attack patterns from July to December 2024, highlights an evolving cybersecurity landscape with notable increases in attack frequency and complexity across the region.
Nigeria faced 1,716 DDoS attacks between July and December—a noticeable drop from 2,721 in the first half of the year. In contrast, Mali saw a dramatic rise, jumping from just 115 recorded attacks in the first six months to 1,637 in the latter half.
NETSCOUT’s regional director for Africa, Bryan Hamman, noted that in Mali, web search portals and other information services were most frequently targeted, with attacks averaging an alarming 1,197 minutes. Wired telecommunications carriers followed as a major target, reflecting global trends—this sector accounted for over 2.1 million incidents worldwide in the same period.
Nigeria, meanwhile, faced a wide spread of attacks across several sectors. Telecommunications resellers, computing infrastructure providers, and even beauty salons were among the most frequently targeted. Other industries affected included banks, used goods retailers, tire dealers, and electronics wholesalers—demonstrating how attackers tailor their campaigns to each country’s economic profile. Nigeria also recorded some of the region’s most complex assaults, with up to 22 different vendors used in a single strike, employing attack methods such as TCP floods, DNS amplification, and ICMP-based Ping floods.
Liberia was the third most affected country, with 1,189 reported attacks, a slight dip from 1,515 in the first half of the year. Its computer systems design industry bore the brunt, enduring 360 incidents. DNS amplification was the most common method used, with STUN amplification also notable.
Ghana saw a significant decline in activity, with attacks plummeting to 917 from 4,753 earlier in the year. ICT-related sectors again topped the list, with web search services, telecoms carriers, and computing providers being the main targets. In a surprising twist, footwear manufacturers were also attacked, registering 14 incidents.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo made its first appearance in the report’s rankings, placing fifth with 879 attacks. While the largest recorded attack reached just 0.74 Gbps, its complexity was striking—15 different vectors were used in a single incident. Computing infrastructure providers were the most affected, though a satellite telecommunications firm endured an attack that lasted 689 minutes.
Cameroon logged 811 attacks and, while not the most frequent target, experienced the highest bandwidth assault in the region—reaching 200.43 Gbps, surpassing even Nigeria’s top figure of 148.77 Gbps.
Other nations such as Côte d’Ivoire (495 incidents), Guinea (341), and the Republic of the Congo (329) experienced fewer attacks. However, high-impact strikes were still recorded, including an 8.66 Gbps incident in Côte d’Ivoire targeting wired telecom providers. Guinea’s wireless telecom sector and Congo’s telecom resellers also reported significant activity.
Hamman warned that these trends underline the growing threat facing West Africa. “DDoS attacks are not only increasing in number but are becoming more sophisticated and damaging,” he said. He stressed the urgent need for robust cybersecurity strategies, continuous risk assessments, and regional cooperation to combat the evolving threat landscape.
