African Cybersecurity Preparedness Revealed as Severely Underestimated in New KnowBe4 Report
The KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025 offers insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding human cyber risk for African organizations. The report, based on insights from cybersecurity decision-makers across 30 African countries, highlights a significant perception gap between what leadership believes about employees’ cybersecurity preparedness and the employees’ actual experiences and capabilities[1][2][3].
One of the key findings is a disconnect between the confidence of organizational leaders in their employees’ ability to recognize and respond to cyber threats and the reality. For instance, 50% of decision-makers rated employee confidence in threat reporting highly, yet only 43% of employees felt confident recognizing threats, and a third felt their training was inadequate[3].
Another concern raised by the report is the effectiveness of security awareness training (SAT). While 68% of decision-makers believed SAT was tailored by role, only 33% of employees agreed this was true, with 16% actively disagreeing. This indicates a disconnect on how well cyber training is adapted to actual job functions[3].
The report especially identifies the FinTech sector as vulnerable. FinTech leaders rate staff security awareness highly, but only 10% express confidence employees would report phishing or social engineering attacks. This gap leaves the fast-growing FinTech ecosystem exposed to significant cyber threats amid its digital transformation role in Africa[4].
To address these issues, the report urges African organizations to move beyond mere compliance and box-ticking in cybersecurity initiatives towards building a culture-driven resilience. It stresses the need for closing the gap between awareness and practical preparedness to reduce human cyber risk[1][3].
The report also reveals regional differences in training frequency, AI governance, and the occurrence of human-related security incidents. For example, Southern Africa trains more often, East Africa governs AI better, and West/Central Africa sees the most human-related security incidents[2].
In conclusion, the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025 reveals that many African organizations are at risk not because they lack awareness of cyber threats but because they overestimate employee preparedness and underinvest in tailored, role-specific training and true engagement with human cyber risk[1][2][3][4]. The report serves as a critical call to action for African organizational leaders to bridge this perception gap and strengthen cybersecurity culture and behavior.
[1] KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025: https://www.knowbe4.com/resources/reports/knowbe4-africa-human-risk-management-report-2025 [2] Southern Africa leads in training frequency, East Africa in AI governance, and West/Central Africa in human-related security incidents: https://www.itweb.co.za/content/KBvU4DQ3q6EGqbJ [3] Confidence in workforce's ability to act on cybersecurity awareness is low among leaders, despite high awareness levels: https://www.itweb.co.za/content/KBvU4DQ3q6EGqbJ [4] FinTech sector especially vulnerable to cyber threats: https://www.itweb.co.za/content/KBvU4DQ3q6EGqbJ
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