Friday, February 13, 2026
Global Cyberattacks January 2026: Ransomware and GenAI Risks Surge Worldwide
The global cybersecurity landscape continues to intensify in 2026, with new threat intelligence revealing that organisations worldwide faced an average of 2,090 cyberattacks per week in January alone. This marks a 3% increase compared to December 2025 and a significant 17% rise year-on-year, confirming that cyber threats are not slowing down — they are accelerating.
The data highlights two dominant forces driving this escalation: the resurgence of ransomware operations and the rapid expansion of Generative AI tools within enterprise environments. Together, these factors are reshaping the risk environment for organisations across every major region and industry.
As digital transformation deepens and AI adoption expands, the global attack surface is becoming more complex — and more attractive to cybercriminals.
Africa’s Cyber Threat Landscape: A Regional Breakdown
Among African nations analysed in the January data, Nigeria recorded the highest attack volume, with organisations experiencing an average of 4,701 cyberattacks per week. This represents a 12% year-on-year increase and a slight rise compared to December 2025.
Angola followed with 4,512 weekly attacks per organisation, though this reflected a 7% year-on-year decline. Kenya saw 2,172 attacks per week, marking a sharp 41% decrease compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, South African organisations faced 2,145 attacks weekly — a concerning 36% year-on-year increase.
Overall, African organisations experienced 2,864 attacks per week on average, reflecting a 6% decline year-on-year. Despite this slight reduction, the continent remains heavily targeted, particularly in sectors that form the backbone of national and economic infrastructure.
Government agencies, financial services institutions, and consumer goods and services companies were among the most targeted sectors across Africa, reflecting attackers’ focus on high-impact and high-value entities.
Attacks Are Increasing in Sophistication
Beyond the numbers, a more critical trend is emerging: cyberattacks are becoming increasingly refined and opportunistic.
Threat actors are no longer relying solely on mass, untargeted campaigns. Instead, they are leveraging automation, AI-driven reconnaissance, and stolen credential databases to identify specific vulnerabilities within expanding enterprise ecosystems.
As organisations integrate more cloud platforms, third-party vendors, APIs, and remote work technologies, their digital footprints grow exponentially. Without continuous monitoring and proactive security controls, these environments create exploitable gaps.
The rise of Generative AI has added a new dimension to this evolving threat landscape.
Generative AI Adoption Introduces Data Exposure Risks
Enterprises across industries are embracing Generative AI tools to improve efficiency, automate workflows, and enhance decision-making. However, the speed of adoption has outpaced governance in many organisations.
January’s threat insights reveal that one in every 30 GenAI prompts submitted from corporate networks posed a significant risk of sensitive data exposure. Alarmingly, 93% of organisations using Generative AI tools experienced at least one high-risk data interaction.
Many prompts contained potentially sensitive information, including:
- Internal corporate documents
- Personal identifiers
- Customer data
- Financial records
- Proprietary source code
On average, organisations used around 10 different Generative AI tools per month. Many of these operate outside formal IT oversight, increasing the risk of unmanaged access, shadow AI usage, and accidental data leakage.
Unregulated AI usage creates new blind spots. Cybercriminals are increasingly exploring AI-powered phishing campaigns, automated vulnerability scanning, and malicious code generation, turning the same technology designed for innovation into a weapon.
Without clear AI governance frameworks, organisations risk exposing confidential information and opening doors to ransomware infiltration.
Education Remains the Most Targeted Sector
Globally, the education sector continues to face the highest volume of cyberattacks. In January, educational institutions averaged 4,364 weekly attacks per organisation — a 12% increase year-on-year.
Educational institutions often operate vast digital networks with constrained cybersecurity budgets, making them prime targets. They manage large volumes of student data, research records, and financial information — all attractive to threat actors.
Government entities ranked second with 2,759 attacks per week, reflecting an 8% year-on-year increase. Telecommunications followed closely with 2,647 weekly attacks, also rising 8% year-on-year. The increased targeting of telecom providers underscores the strategic importance of connectivity infrastructure, especially in 5G-enabled environments.
Regional Overview: Latin America Leads, Western Markets Targeted Heavily
Latin America recorded the highest attack volume globally, with organisations facing 3,110 weekly attacks per organisation — a 33% year-on-year increase.
Asia-Pacific followed at 3,087 attacks per week, reflecting a 7% increase. Africa reported 2,864 attacks weekly, down 6% year-on-year, while Europe saw an 18% increase and North America experienced a 19% rise.
Despite regional differences, the global pattern remains clear: high-value economies and rapidly digitising markets are primary targets for sophisticated cyber campaigns.
Ransomware Activity Continues to Rise
Ransomware remains one of the most financially damaging cyber threats. January recorded 678 publicly disclosed ransomware incidents worldwide — a 10% increase compared to January 2025.
North America accounted for 52% of reported ransomware cases, followed by Europe at 24%. The United States alone represented 48% of global ransomware victims.
Other heavily impacted countries included:
- United Kingdom – 5%
- Canada – 4%
- Germany – 4%
- Italy – 3%
- Spain – 3%
Across industries, business services was the most impacted sector at 33%, followed by consumer goods and services at 15%, and industrial manufacturing at 11%.
Leading ransomware groups included Qilin, LockBit, and Akira, collectively responsible for a significant share of reported incidents. These groups continue to evolve their tactics, often combining encryption with data theft and public extortion strategies.
The Urgent Need for Prevention-First Security
The January 2026 data reinforces a critical reality: cyber threats are increasing in both volume and complexity. Organisations expanding digitally without strengthening cybersecurity governance risk operational disruption, financial loss, and reputational damage.
The convergence of ransomware growth and unmanaged Generative AI adoption presents a new level of exposure. Traditional reactive security approaches are no longer sufficient. Continuous monitoring, AI-driven threat detection, and proactive risk management are becoming essential components of enterprise resilience.
As digital ecosystems expand, cybersecurity must scale alongside innovation — not lag behind it.
In today’s evolving threat environment, organisations must move beyond basic protection models and adopt intelligent, prevention-first strategies. At Techfacto Global Services, we help businesses secure their digital transformation journey with advanced threat monitoring, secure application development, AI-driven security frameworks, and proactive vulnerability management designed to defend against modern ransomware and emerging GenAI-driven cyber risks.
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