A string of AI-driven cyberattacks has fuelled calls for
enhanced safety and oversight of the technology over concerns about the risks
resulting from powerful autonomous systems.
US technology firm Anthropic, in the early hours of
Friday, announced that its artificial intelligence (AI) models hacked into the
systems of three organisations during a cybersecurity test after an error gave
them access to the internet.
The disclosure came just days after competitor OpenAI
announced that its models had breached the systems of other organisations,
including AI tools hub Hugging Face.
Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s highest-ranked country in
the latest Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI), climbing to 38th position
globally, a significant improvement from its previous standing. The ranking
reflects the country’s growing adoption of artificial intelligence.
Beyond the ranking, many Nigerian businesses have
integrated AI into their operations.
According to a study titled The AI Privacy Equation: The
Nigerian Model of Responsible AI Adoption, 93% of Nigerian organisations have
already begun their AI journey, with 31 percent achieving advanced AI
integration across their organisations and 26.5% implementing AI across
multiple departments.
The reported cyber breaches, however, highlight the need
for countries like Nigeria, where AI adoption is expanding rapidly, to put
stronger safeguards in place to minimise the risks associated with the
technology.
Experts warned that businesses adopting AI tools must
understand the implications, strengthen data protection measures and conduct
periodic risk assessments of the technology.
“It is essential that businesses and organisations
adopt and develop policies on the use of AI, protect data with appropriate
measures, install access controls and multifactor authentication, and carry out
periodic assessments of risks associated with AI, among other safeguards.
Similarly, they should invest in employee awareness on how to use AI
responsibly.
“Based on the reported cyber breaches involving AI
companies, this incident serves as a warning that no organisation is an island.
My advice to Nigerian organisations is that while they may have to embrace AI
technology, they also need to be wary of the consequences that come with
it,” said Joseph Abraham, lead Data & AI technologist at
SmartDataGen/Operational Intelligence Systems.
Abraham commended the provisions of the Nigeria Data
Protection Act (NDPA) and the Cybercrimes Act, which guide data protection and
cybercrime, respectively, but insisted that businesses, particularly those in
the financial sector, must recognise that AI presents new challenges requiring
stronger governance frameworks for its responsible use.
“Moreover, even if compliance is achieved, it is good
to have human oversight in the decision-making process of AI systems to review
their outcomes. In essence, organisations must treat AI as an integral part of
their business operations and take all the necessary precautions as they would
with any other business function,” he added.
Latest threat intelligence from cybersecurity firm
Kaspersky shows that Nigeria recorded 1.6 million online cyberattack attempts
in the first half of 2026, reinforcing concerns that the country’s expanding
digital economy is becoming an attractive target for cybercriminals using
artificial intelligence to automate attacks.
The report ranked Nigeria among the five most-targeted
countries in the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa region between January and
June 2026, as security systems blocked 1.6 million web-based attacks
originating from malicious websites, phishing emails and compromised online
services during the six months.
Gbolahan Alabi-Isama, a digital content strategist, said
in a post on his official LinkedIn page that there is a need for updated
cybersecurity frameworks capable of addressing the risks posed by new
autonomous AI agents.
“Everyone is talking about AI escaping. I am asking
why our governance frameworks still think yesterday’s cybersecurity is enough
for tomorrow’s,” he said.
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