A report by Surfshark reveals that over 281,000 Nigerian email accounts were breached in the first quarter of 2026, marking an 18% increase compared to the final quarter of 2025.
No fewer than 281,000 email accounts belonging to Nigerians were breached in the first three months of 2026, according to new data from global cybersecurity firm Surfshark. The report, released on Thursday, May 7, 2026, shows that 281,456 accounts were compromised during the quarter, representing an 18% increase from the 238,234 breaches recorded in December 2025. This surge occurred during a period characterized by frequent threat advisories and successful attacks against high-end data controllers in Nigeria’s private sector, further exposing the country’s fragile digital infrastructure.
The scale of the crisis extends beyond recent months, as the Surfshark database reveals that more than 24 million Nigerian accounts have been compromised since tracking began in 2004. These leaks often contain highly sensitive personal information, including passwords, phone numbers, residential addresses, and financial details. Highlighting the long-term risk of these exposures, Surfshark’s Chief Security Officer, Tomas Stamulis, noted that hackers frequently combine old and newly leaked information into “combo lists” to be resold for identity theft. “For people, a data leak means their personal information is forever on the internet. It’s not a one-time threat that disappears after a user changes their compromised email address and password,” Stamulis explained.
Cybersecurity experts point to systemic vulnerabilities within both the private and public sectors as a primary driver for these breaches. Investigative reports have demonstrated how easily bad actors harvest personal information from government agencies that leave citizen data exposed or fail to address critical IT flaws. For instance, in 2025, reports detailed how the Oyo and Edo state governments published citizens’ financial information online without adequate safeguards. As businesses rapidly adopt AI and expand their digital footprints, experts warn that the volume of stored user data will continue to grow, creating a larger and more complex environment for hackers to exploit.
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