Organisations worldwide faced an average of 2,090 cyber attacks per week in January 2026, representing a 3% monthly increase and a 17% year-over-year rise, according to Check Point Research released on Tuesday.
The findings from Check Point Software Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: CHKP) reveal mounting pressure on global networks as attackers sharpen their tactics, with African countries remaining particularly vulnerable to evolving threats.
Nigeria experienced the highest attack frequency among four African countries monitored, recording 4,701 attacks per organisation per week, marking a 12% year-over-year increase. This represented a rise from 4,622 attacks in December 2025. Angola followed with 4,512 weekly attacks per organisation, down 7% from January 2025, while Kenya recorded 2,172 attacks, a 41% decrease year-over-year. South African organisations faced 2,145 weekly attacks, up 36% compared to January 2025.
Overall, Africa recorded 2,864 attacks per organisation per week, representing a 6% year-over-year decrease. Government, Financial Services, and Consumer Goods and Services emerged as the three most targeted industries across the continent.
Ian van Rensburg, Head of Security Engineering for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, warned that unchecked Generative AI (GenAI) usage is opening new blind spots for organisations. He emphasised that prevention-first, real-time protection powered by artificial intelligence remains the only effective way to stop attacks before they cause operational or financial damage.
The rapid adoption of GenAI tools continues to introduce high-risk data leakage pathways. In January, one in every 30 GenAI prompts submitted from corporate networks posed significant risk of sensitive data exposure, affecting 93% of organisations using GenAI tools. Organisations used an average of 10 different GenAI tools per month, many operating outside formal governance structures.
The Education sector remained the most attacked globally, with institutions averaging 4,364 weekly attacks per organisation, a 12% increase year-over-year. Government entities followed with 2,759 weekly attacks (8% year-over-year increase), while Telecommunications rose to third place with 2,647 attacks per week (8% year-over-year increase).
Regionally, Latin America recorded the highest attack volumes at 3,110 attacks per organisation per week (33% year-over-year increase). Asia Pacific followed with 3,087 attacks (7% increase), Europe rose 18%, and North America increased 19% year-over-year.
Ransomware remained one of the most destructive threats in January, with 678 publicly reported incidents marking a 10% increase compared to January 2025. North America accounted for 52% of all known cases, followed by Europe at 24%. The United States alone represented 48% of global ransomware victims.
Business Services was the most impacted industry globally at 33%, followed by Consumer Goods and Services (15%) and Industrial Manufacturing (11%). The leading ransomware groups in January were Qilin (15%), LockBit (12%), and Akira (9%).
