By Martin Ekpeke
A new report from cybersecurity firm Surfshark reveals a troubling trend: global data breaches have increased by 34%, with over 94 million accounts leaked in the second quarter of 2025 alone. While Nigeria saw a significant drop in breaches during this period, with a 73% decrease compared to the first quarter, over 150,000 accounts were still compromised in the first half of the year.
The United States, France, India, Germany, and Israel were the countries most affected by data breaches in Q2 2025. According to the report, a data breach occurs when sensitive information is exposed to unauthorized third parties. This can include anything from email addresses and passwords to phone numbers and physical addresses.
“Today’s digital age requires all of us to share more and more personal information to carry out daily tasks. There is no guarantee that businesses are keeping crucial information safe and secure. In the wrong hands, this data can be used to commit identity theft, via social media, for targeted scams, or sold on the dark web,” said Sarunas Sereika, Product Manager at Surfshark.
Nigeria’s long-term data breach profile
Despite the recent quarterly decrease, Nigeria’s long-term data breach statistics are a cause for concern. Since 2004, the country has ranked third in Sub-Saharan Africa for compromised user accounts, with a total of 23.3 million leaks. This figure includes 7.3 million unique email addresses and 13 million passwords, meaning 56% of breached users are at risk of account takeover, which could lead to identity theft, extortion, or other cybercrimes. Statistically, this means 10 out of every 100 Nigerians have been affected by a data breach.
Top 10 most breached countries in Q2 2025
The Surfshark report highlights which countries were hit hardest by breaches in the last quarter:
- United States (42.5 million accounts)
- France (11.4 million accounts)
- India (1.7 million accounts)
- Germany (1.3 million accounts)
- Israel (1.2 million accounts)
- Canada (968,600 accounts)
- United Kingdom (944,000 accounts)
- Thailand (889,100 accounts)
- Brazil (639,600 accounts)
- China (578,300 accounts)
The report also analyzed breach density—the number of leaked accounts per 1,000 residents. On this metric, France topped the list with 172 breached accounts per 1,000 people, followed by Israel (130) and the U.S. (123).