Africa’s manufacturing sector faced a staggering projected loss of $446 million in the first nine months of 2025 due to ransomware-induced downtime, according to new data from Kaspersky and VDC Research.
The findings, which analyze the financial impact of cyberattacks on industrial organizations globally, reveal that while Africa accounts for a smaller portion of global losses compared to APAC or Europe, the continent remains a critical target.
The estimated $446 million figure specifically represents the direct cost of an idle workforce during downtime, meaning the total financial blow, including recovery costs, reputational damage, and supply chain disruptions, is likely much higher.
The report highlights that when ransomware strikes, production lines grind to a halt. Based on the Kaspersky Incident Response Report, the average attack forces operations offline for approximately 13 days.
For African manufacturers, this downtime is devastating. The study estimates that across the APAC, Europe, Middle East, Africa, CIS, and LATAM regions, the total potential loss from idle labor exceeded $18 billion. While the Asia-Pacific region bore the brunt with $11.5 billion in losses, Africa’s half-billion-dollar hit represents a significant drain on a sector crucial for the continent’s economic development.
According to the Kaspersky Security Network, 5.8% of manufacturing organizations in Africa faced ransomware attempts between January and September 2025. This places Africa’s threat level closely behind the Middle East (7%), Latin America (6.5%), and APAC (6.3%), but ahead of the CIS (5.2%) and Europe (3.8%).
Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center for Russia and CIS at Kaspersky’s GReAT, emphasized that size is no longer a shield for African businesses. “No region is exempt from ransomware… every manufacturing hub is constantly being targeted,” Galov warned. “Mid-tier manufacturers that could have been overlooked by threat actors in the past are also among the targets because their security budgets are smaller and their supply chain disruption effects can be larger than most realize.”
Also, Jared Weiner, Research Director at VDC Research, noted that the growing complexity of modern factories is making defense more difficult.
“The growing complexity of manufacturing environments, along with widening expertise gaps and ongoing labor challenges, makes it difficult for most organizations to manage cybersecurity effectively,” said Weiner. He warned that failure to secure IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) leads not just to immediate financial loss, but long-term reputational damage.
To stem these losses, experts urge African manufacturers to move beyond basic defenses and adopt a multi-layered approach. This begins with endpoint protection, specifically implementing ransomware safeguards for all endpoints using tools like the Kaspersky Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business.
For industrial sectors, the guidance emphasizes OT/IoT integration through ecosystems like Kaspersky Industrial CyberSecurity (KICS), which seamlessly combines IT security with purpose-built industrial technologies. Finally, organizations are advised to prioritize training and intelligence by equipping Security Operations Center (SOC) teams with up-to-date threat data and regular professional training to close the expertise gap.
With ransomware actors becoming more indiscriminate, the data suggests that African manufacturers must treat cybersecurity not as an IT issue, but as a central pillar of operational stability and financial survival.