82% of META Small Businesses Faced Cybersecurity Incidents in Past Year — Kaspersky

About 82% of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the Middle East, Türkiye and Africa (META) experienced at least one cybersecurity incident in the past year, according to new research by Kaspersky.

The cybersecurity company disclosed the findings during GITEX Nigeria, holding from 31 August to 3 September in Lagos, warning that cybercriminals are increasingly using the same attack methods against smaller businesses as they do against large enterprises.

Kaspersky’s Internal Research Center found that only 14% of businesses globally with 100 to 499 employees avoided a cyber incident in the past year. In the META region, the figure was 18%.

Phishing and software vulnerability exploitation were the most common incidents among SMBs in the META region, each affecting 19% of organisations, followed by weak or stolen credentials at 18% and external remote access at 16%.

Kaspersky said malware threats are also increasing across Africa. Spyware detections rose by 16%, password stealer attacks by 51% and backdoor detections by 23% over the past year.

In Nigeria, Kaspersky security tools blocked more than 1.6 million online attack attempts in the first half of 2026, including attacks involving password stealers, exploits and spyware. A further 2.5 million on-device threats were blocked, including malware delivered through infected USB drives.

The research identified insufficient IT security expertise and inadequate IT security policies as the leading cybersecurity risk factors among META SMBs, with 25% of respondents citing each. High workloads among IT security teams followed at 24%.

Globally, 70% of SMBs plan to strengthen their IT security functions, while 69% in META intend to do so. Meanwhile, 75% globally and 70% in META have already increased their cybersecurity budgets this year.

“The current reality when companies of all sizes can be targeted with all possible methods urges business to reconsider their security posture. Sophisticated attacks easily bypass fragmented defences, requiring advanced tools and a skilled team to counter them. However, growing companies are often held back by budget constraints and the global InfoSec talent shortage,” says Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform Product Line at Kaspersky.

He added: “That is why modern cybersecurity solutions must deliver more with less. Instead of introducing complex new tools that demand hard-to-find, expensive expertise, vendors should focus on cutting complexity.”

Kaspersky advises SMBs to strengthen access controls, automate data backups, train employees to identify emerging threats such as phishing, deepfakes and vishing, and adopt scalable cybersecurity solutions suited to their size and risk profile.

Kaspersky will exhibit at GITEX Nigeria on 2 and 3 September at the Convention Center in Lagos, at stand B10 in Hall 2.