Nigeria recorded over 119,000 leaked data breaches in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest global data breach report from cybersecurity firm Surfshark.
This places the country 34th worldwide in terms of the number of breached accounts.
A data breach means that an intruder copied and leaked user data such as names, surnames, email addresses, passwords, etc.
One breached email address is considered as one breached user/account.
However, while the figure for Nigeria may appear alarming, it actually reflects a sharp decline in breach activity compared to previous quarters.
Surfshark’s analysis indicates an 85% drop in the number of leaked accounts in Nigeria from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025, in line with a global trend that saw leaked accounts plunge 93% year-on-year, from 973.7 million in Q1 2024 to just 68.3 million in Q1 2025.
Nigeria’s data breach landscape
Surfshark’s long-term data shows that Nigeria remains one of the most affected countries in Sub-Saharan Africa when it comes to data breaches.
Since 2004, approximately 23.2 million Nigerian user accounts have been compromised.
Out of these:
- 7.3 million unique email addresses were exposed.
- 13 million passwords were leaked alongside the accounts.
- 56% of users whose accounts were compromised are at risk of identity theft, extortion, or unauthorized account access.
- Statistically, 10 in every 100 Nigerians have been affected by data breaches, and in Q1 2025 alone, approximately one Nigerian account was breached every minute.
Most affected countries
Globally, the most affected countries were the United States (16.9 million leaked accounts), followed by Russia (4.4 million), India (4.2 million), Germany (3.9 million), and Spain (2.4 million).
Despite the drop in Nigeria and a few other countries captured in the report, cybersecurity experts are warning against complacency.
“Although the number of vulnerable accounts in all major regions decreased, people should remain vigilant,” said Research Lead at Surfshark, Luís Costa.
“Cyberthreats are constantly evolving, and attackers are adapting their tactics. Strong security practices, frequent password updates, and enabling two-factor authentication remain essential,” he added.
Countries with the highest breach density (measured by the number of leaked accounts per 1,000 residents) were:
- South Sudan (61)
- Spain (51)
- United States (49)
- Germany (46)
- Slovenia (45)
- Other countries in the top 10 include Israel, the UK, France, Russia, and Norway.
Methodology
Surfshark’s research is based on data gathered from 29,000 publicly available databases.
Each unique breached email address is treated as a separate user account, and breaches often include additional personal data such as passwords, phone numbers, IP addresses, and postal codes.
The data was anonymized before analysis, and countries with populations under one million were excluded from the study.
