esentry H1 2026 Report

The cyber threat landscape during the first half of 2026 continued to evolve in sophistication, scale, and operational impact. Threat actors increasingly shifted from isolated attacks toward coordinated campaigns leveraging software supply chains, artificial intelligence, automation, credential marketplaces, and social engineering to maximize reach and profitability.

Ransomware remained the most disruptive cyber threat globally, while financially motivated cybercrime groups demonstrated increasing capability to weaponize trusted software ecosystems. Simultaneously, the rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence introduced new attack surfaces as adversaries exploited AI services, AI credentials, autonomous agents, and AI-assisted malware development.

Africa experienced a significant increase in cyber activity, recording nearly 3,000 attacks per organization every week, highlighting the continent's growing attractiveness to financially motivated and opportunistic threat actors. Within Nigeria, cyber adversaries continued targeting government agencies, financial institutions, technology companies, telecommunications providers, oil and gas organizations, and public-facing digital services, with government institutions remaining the most targeted sector.