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AI-powered cyber threats put healthcare systems at risk

Published

9 months ago

September 17, 2025

Healthcare systems worldwide are facing a surge in cyberattacks supercharged by artificial intelligence, a new report has revealed.

According to data from the report, Nigeria’s private healthcare sector is now one of the most targeted on the African continent, with attacks increasing at an alarming rate.

As reported by The Papers, an online news platform on Wednesday, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: CHKP), a multinational cybersecurity firm, released a data-rich report highlighting these regional trends and their impact ahead of World Patient Safety Day 2025.

According to the report, the Country Manager for West Africa at Check Point Software Technologies, Kingsley Oseghale, said, “On World Patient Safety Day 2025, the focus must extend beyond clinical errors to the hidden risks of cyberattacks on healthcare.

“Healthcare in Nigeria is under increasing pressure from sophisticated cyber threats. These attacks no longer simply steal data; they disrupt surgeries, force emergency diversions, and alter patient treatment plans, putting lives at risk.”

According to the World Health Organisation, World Patient Safety Day 2025, themed “Safe care for every newborn and every child,” highlights the unique risks children face in healthcare.

The initiative calls for urgent global action to eliminate preventable harm in paediatric and newborn care by mobilising governments, healthcare providers, and communities to implement sustainable safety strategies.

It also emphasises empowering parents, caregivers, and children through education and involvement in care decisions, while promoting research and innovation to ensure every child receives safe, high-quality healthcare from birth.

In similar research, according to an April 2025 report by Itedgenews, Nigerian healthcare organisations suffered an average of 4,388 cyberattacks per week in 2025, a 47% year-on-year jump. Angola recorded 4,727 weekly attacks (+32%), Kenya 4,004 (+14%), while South Africa experienced the sharpest rise, with weekly attacks up 69% to 1,884.

“This surge stems from rapid digitisation, mixed legacy systems, and a shortage of cyber security staff, creating a perfect storm for attackers seeking high-value patient data and disruption leverage,” Oseghale added.

AI has become both a weapon and a shield in this battle. Criminals use AI to generate realistic phishing scams, deepfake impersonations, and advanced malware, making intrusions faster and harder to detect.

The threat also extends to connected medical devices like infusion pumps and smart monitors, which expand the attack surface and heighten risks of direct patient harm. Medical identity theft adds another layer of danger, draining trust and burdening healthcare providers with costly remediation.

Experts stress that protecting patients now requires cybersecurity to be integrated into overall care quality. Key measures include regular staff training, zero-trust policies, comprehensive asset visibility, prevention-first AI security, and consolidated protection platforms.

“Cybersecurity in healthcare is no longer just about protecting data; it’s about protecting lives. As connected devices, AI-driven apps, and vast patient datasets converge, the attack surface for harm grows exponentially.

“By embedding prevention-first, AI-powered security into every layer, from device design to app governance to data protection, we can ensure that innovation in healthcare translates into safer, more resilient care for every patient,” Oseghale stated.”

As Nigeria and other African nations digitise their healthcare systems, the rise in AI-driven cyberattacks serves as a warning that more efforts are needed to safeguard the most vulnerable, newborns and children, and demands that cybersecurity be treated as an essential pillar of safe care.

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News

Ndigbo will never move on from £20 compensation injustice — Aloy Ejimakor

Published

10 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Lawyer to Nnamdi Kanu, convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, Aloy Ejimakor, has said Ndigbo will “never move on” from the injustices suffered after the Nigerian Civil War, particularly the confiscation of properties and the £20 compensation policy.

Ejimakor made the statement in a post on X on Saturday, where he argued that many people wrongly believe the Igbo have forgotten the humiliation and injustice experienced after the war.

“It seems to me that some people believe that Ndigbo have moved on from the humiliation & injustice of confiscating their properties & handing them a mere £20 at the end of the Civil War. Well, hear this: Ndigbo will NEVER move on until these injustices (plus more) are redressed,” he wrote.

The lawyer did not specify what additional grievances he was referring to, but his comments come amid renewed debates over historical injustices, reconciliation, and the treatment of the South-East region since the end of the Civil War in 1970.

It was reports that after the war, many Igbo people who had bank deposits before the conflict were reportedly given a flat sum of £20 regardless of the amount previously held in their accounts, a policy that has remained a subject of controversy for decades.

Ejimakor is one of the lead lawyers representing Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of IPOB, who was recently convicted on terrorism-related charges brought by the Federal Government.

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VIDEO: Release Nnamdi Kanu or arrest Sheikh Gumi – Primate Ayodele to Nigeria Govt

Published

11 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

Leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele, has called on the Federal Government to release detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.

Speaking to his congregation in a video sighted by DAILY POST, Primate Ayodele said if the Nigerian Government continues to keep Nnamdi Kanu, it should also arrest Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

He said, “The Nigerian government should release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Since you keep Kanu in prison, why can’t you keep Sheikh Gumi in prison too?

“You keep Nnamdi Kanu but Gumi is free. Then, how do you want to now manage the government.

“If Nnamdi Kanu is there, then go and take Gumi. Then Nigerians will believe that the government is serious. Protest will seize this Tinubu government,” he warned.

SEE THE VIDEO

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UN Secretary-General appoints Nigeria’s Eziakonwa as Special Adviser on Africa

Published

11 hours ago

June 13, 2026

Oluwagbenga Olaoye

United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Ahunna Eziakonwa of Nigeria as Special Adviser on Africa.

She succeeds Cristina Duarte of the Republic of Cabo Verde, to whom the Secretary General is grateful for her commitment and dedicated service to the Organisation.

Eziakonwa brings nearly three decades of United Nations (UN) leadership to her new role.

In her current role as UN Assistant Secretary General, Assistant Administrator and Director, Regional Bureau for Africa, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she oversees the organisation’s support to 46 African countries in pursuing Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

Since 2018, she has helped shape UNDP’s strategic approach to economic and political development across the continent.

Eziakonwa’s experience spans the full breadth of UN work in Africa.

She has served as UN Resident Coordinator, Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries – Ethiopia, Uganda and Lesotho – where she coordinated humanitarian action, development strategy and political engagement.

As Chief of the Africa Section at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) in New York, she managed humanitarian operations across 15 African countries and held senior posts in Liberia and Sierra Leone during critical periods in those nations.

At UN Headquarters, she contributed to peacekeeping and political analysis and strategic communications pertaining to UN engagement in Africa, working with the UN Departments of Peacekeeping Operations, Political Affairs and Public Information.

Prior to joining the UN, she held positions in several African civil society organisations.

Eziakonwa holds a Master’s degree in International Affairs with a focus on African economic and political development from Columbia University, New York, USA, and a Bachelor of Arts in Pedagogy, English and Literary Studies from the University of Benin, Nigeria.

In addition to her native Igbo and English, she speaks fluent Yoruba and has a working knowledge of French.

NAN

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