Lagos: 82% of small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region experienced cybersecurity incidents over the past year, according to research conducted by Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company. This revelation was highlighted during GITEX Nigeria, held from August 31 to September 3 in Lagos, where Kaspersky warned that cyber attackers are now using the same tactics against small businesses as they do against larger enterprises.
According to African Press Organization, Kaspersky’s Internal Research Center conducted a global survey that found only 14% of businesses with 100 to 499 employees avoided a cyber incident in the past year. In the META region, the figure was slightly higher, with 18% of businesses reporting no incidents. Cyber threats targeting businesses range from malware to trusted relationship attacks, with spyware, password stealer attacks, and backdoor detections seeing significant increases in Africa over the past year.
Kaspersky’s security tools blocked over 1.6 million online attack attempts on users in Nigeria in the first half of 2026, including malware attacks by password stealers, exploits, spyware, and more. Additionally, 2.5 million on-device threats were blocked in Nigeria, including malware delivered via infected USB drives. The increasing digitalization of smaller organizations and the decreasing cost of launching cyberattacks have made SMBs more attractive targets for cybercriminals.
The study also revealed that, on average, organizations experienced three different types of security incidents over the past year. Globally, phishing, software vulnerability exploitation, and external remote access were the most common breaches among SMBs. In the META region, phishing and software vulnerability exploits were the top categories of incidents, followed by the use of weak or stolen credentials and external remote access.
To combat these rising threats, 70% of SMBs globally and 69% in the META region plan to enhance their IT security functions. This year, 75% of SMBs globally and 70% in the META region have increased their cybersecurity budgets. A significant portion of these funds has been allocated to expanding IT and IT security teams, introducing new IT security trainings for employees, and migrating to advanced IT security solutions.
Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform Product Line at Kaspersky, emphasized the need for modern cybersecurity solutions to deliver more with less, focusing on cutting complexity rather than introducing complex new tools. Kaspersky is committed to providing advanced protection that is easy to adopt, simple to manage, and capable of growing alongside businesses.
Kaspersky offers several recommendations for small and medium businesses to protect against emerging threats, including establishing internal processes and protecting employees through dedicated training. Kaspersky also provides specialized cybersecurity solutions tailored to different business sizes and requirements, such as Kaspersky Small Office Security Premium and Kaspersky Next Optimum.
Kaspersky will be present at GITEX Nigeria on September 2-3 at the Convention Center in Lagos, at stand B10 in Hall 2.