From promise to peril, Africa faces an AI dilemma

By Mthulisi Sibanda, Contributor
Johannesburg, 24 Nov 2025
Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies.
Lorna Hardie, regional director for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies.

Africa faces a complex challenge: it must deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a solution to combat cyber threats while concurrently grappling with the heightened risks that come with it.

According to a recent report, African organisations are confronted with a staggering 3,153 cyber-attacks weekly, underscoring the severity of the cyber threat landscape on the continent.

This stark statistic highlights the paradox of relying on AI to bolster security in a rapidly digitalising economy.

Lorna Hardie, regional director: Africa, Check Point Software Technologies, spoke in an interview after the organisation published the 2025 African Perspectives on Cyber Security Report.

The findings reveal a spike in attacks across the continent and a significant shift in attacker tactics driven by AI.

“The 2025 findings reveal a continent in rapid transition, where digital acceleration is transforming economies faster than cyber security maturity can keep pace,” Hardie said.

“All these insights point toward a single truth: prevention must become Africa’s default operating model for digital success.”

Hardie continued: “These principles are already visible in Africa’s most successful cyber-mature enterprises, where prevention is embedded, not added, and security enables innovation rather than limiting.”

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