Digital technologies and internet connectivity continue to reshape social and economic systems worldwide. For households, improved access to timely information and reduced transaction costs help strengthen learning outcomes, support more active labor-market participation, and raise income and overall welfare. For businesses, digital tools are becoming integral to decision-making, operational efficiency, innovation, and the ability to reach a broader market (World Bank, 2024).
Africa is experiencing a rapid digital transformation. Despite ongoing challenges related to infrastructure, connectivity, and service reliability, Internet adoption continues to rise across the continent. Between 2019 and 2022, more than 160 million people became regular users of cyberspace, highlighting the growing dependence on digital platforms for communication, commerce, education, and governance (World Bank, 2024). This expansion is reshaping how communities connect and access opportunities, even as digital inclusion remains uneven across regions.
Despite the rapid expansion of the digital age, this transformation has also introduced significant risks, most notably the rising threat of cybercrime. As technological innovation accelerates, cybercriminals have adapted in parallel, using increasingly sophisticated methods to exploit digital vulnerabilities. These developments pose serious risks to individuals, organizations, and national security. The impacts extend well beyond financial losses, often resulting in considerable psychological and emotional distress for victims (Interpol, 2024).
In 2024, the cybersecurity landscape was shaped by rising geopolitical tensions, rapid AI adoption, and increasing vulnerabilities across global supply chains, according to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 (World Economic Forum, 2025). Organizations faced mounting pressure as regulatory environments became more fragmented and cybercrime, particularly AI enhanced ransomware, grew more sophisticated. More than 15 million cybercrime incidents were recorded globally in 2024, a slight decrease from the previous year. The highest level was in 2021, with 19.23 million incidents (Statista, 2025).
In 2023, nearly 10 million devices were infected with data-stealing malware, each exposing an average of 51 login credentials. Cybercriminals used these stolen credentials to enable further attacks or traded them across dark-web forums and private Telegram channels (Kaspersky, 2024).
Africa is among the regions that have faced the highest number of cyberattacks in recent years. The 2023 assessment points to a sharp rise in such incidents, underscoring the continent’s growing exposure to digital threats (Interpol, 2024). According to the report, the average number of weekly cyberattacks per organization increased by 23% from the previous year, marking the highest global growth rate. Although the report does not provide a consolidated total of incidents, it highlights that both the frequency and impact of cybercrime continue to escalate. Importantly, cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crimes are now classified as medium to high-risk threats in more than two-thirds of surveyed countries, revealing widespread vulnerability across Africa’s digital landscape.
While the global community has witnessed significant technological advancements over the past three decades, Somalia has also grappled with prolonged conflict and instability, conditions that have constrained its ability to benefit from digital progress fully. Even so, notable gains have been made, particularly in telecommunications and digital financial services (World Bank, 2024). Somalia’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities stem from weak legal enforcement, limited technical infrastructure, a shortage of skilled personnel, and the absence of coordinated national mechanisms for threat detection and response. Together, these factors create a fragile digital environment highly susceptible to cyber risks, underscoring the urgent need for sustained capacity-building and strategic planning.
Somalia currently faces a significant gap in its cybersecurity architecture, as there is no clearly defined national strategy to prevent or respond to large-scale cyberattacks. Although the cabinet has approved a new cybersecurity bill, it has not yet been ratified by parliament (SONNA, 2025). The country ranks among the top 20 globally in terms of the number of computers infected with malware, underscoring the severity of the threat.
The absence of a coordinated cybersecurity system also means there is no reliable mechanism for tracing the origin of attacks. Over the past decade, cyber incidents in Somalia have frequently involved the hacking of email accounts, personal computers, and web applications, exposing both individuals and institutions to persistent digital vulnerabilities (Nur, Abas Osman, 2021).
This policy brief examines Somalia’s digital development, the emerging cybersecurity challenges, the current response efforts, and future opportunities, and concludes with actionable policy recommendations.
