MTN Group yesterday confirmed that it was targeted in a cyber attack but has moved to calm concerns, assuring customers, partners, and stakeholders that its key systems and customer data were not compromised.

The telecoms giant in a statement released on Thursday, April 24, revealed that it had detected unauthorized activity within its network, and had acted swiftly to isolate and neutralize the threat.

The development underscores the importance of cybersecurity on the telecom network that has become a critical national infrastructure.

“Our collective national web is anchored on secure and resilient telecommunications infrastructure. Hence, the need for an efficient CNIPP can not be overstated,” Association of Licensed Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo said at a cybersecurity forum in Abuja.

The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, said the attackers had sought to disrupt operation, but their attempts were unsuccessful.

He said the incident did not affect Nigeria specifically, and critical infrastructure, including customer information and core business functions, remained secure.

“We take cybersecurity very seriously and have robust systems in place to detect, isolate, and neutralize threats. Although this attack attempted to breach our defences, our security protocols worked as intended, and our core infrastructure remains secure,” Toriola stated.

MTN did not disclose the nature or origin of the cyberattack on its systems, Cybersecurity analysts have warned that telecom companies across Africa are becoming prime targets for cybercriminals. This growing threat is linked to the sector’s vast subscriber base and the continent’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

An internal source within MTN confirmed that the breach did not affect operations in Nigeria, reinforcing the company’s earlier statement that local infrastructure and services remain intact.

The attack comes at a time when Nigeria is accelerating its digital transformation agenda, an ambitious effort that places increased responsibility on service providers to strengthen their cybersecurity protocols.

MTN has pledged to work closely with cybersecurity experts and government authorities to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident. The company also affirmed its commitment to bolstering its systems and defences to prevent future breaches and safeguard customer trust.

Telecom networks are high-priority, high-impact targets for cyberattacks. According to the Microsoft Digital Defence Report, cyberattacks against critical telecom infrastructure have risen 40per cent in two years.

According to Censys, a security community’s trusted source for Internet visibility and intelligence, in 2023, Russian hackers were able to infiltrate Ukrainian telecom operator Kyivstar and knock out services for over 48 hours.

According to Reuters, over 24 million customers were left without mobile services for several days, with the service loss also effectively shutting down other critical services, including air raid sirens, some banking services, ATMs, and point-of-sale terminals. Attackers would also have had access to location services, allowing them to track device location.

Data is currency, and telecom providers have become custodians of humanity’s digital footprint.


Censys said telcos send and store data for billions of people and millions of organizations across the globe, and data exfiltration is table stakes for cyber criminals.

The data harvested in some telecom attacks goes further than just the sale of information on the dark web, though, as evidenced by a 2023 data breach at Mint Mobile.

The exposed data from this particular attack contained subscriber identity module (SIM) and International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, which would allow a threat actor to conduct SIM swapping attacks, which is when an attacker ports a person’s number to their own device. Once they have access to the number, they can try to infiltrate user accounts with password resets and access to the multi-factor authentication OTP text codes. BleepingComputer notes that, “Threat actors commonly use this technique to breach accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges, stealing all assets stored in the online wallet.”

While the threat landscape is daunting, carriers are fighting back with innovative approaches to security.