Interpol Releases Report on AI Cybercrime in Africa

Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026. 

In June, Interpol’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 found that AI is enabling up to 55% of cybercrime in Africa. Losses from these crimes have more than doubled since 2024, and are now at USD$484 million. Scam centres operate in 72% of surveyed countries, with AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic identities are increasingly defeating biometric security measures.

The  director of Interpol’s cybercrime unit, Neal Jetton has said:

“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion. However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled.”

But multilateral cooperation has been paying off: four coordinated operations netted over 1,500 arrests and recovered $100 million. In 2025, seventeen African countries passed updated cybercrime legislation. The Interpol report advocates stronger forensic standards, cross-border cooperation, and AI literacy training for police.

For more SWJ coverage of cyberwarfare, read here.

For Interpol’s summary, see here.