Big data analysis and artificial intelligence (AI) company S2W recently announced its participation as a private sector partner in the creation of the '2026 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report' released by Interpol. The report provides data and intelligence for analyzing cybercrime trends in Africa.
This report was published as part of the 'Africa Joint Cybercrime Operation' (AFJOC), supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). It was developed using a multi-source analysis approach that combines survey data provided by law enforcement agencies from 36 Interpol member countries in Africa with telemetry data and threat intelligence from global companies and non-profit organizations, including S2W, Mastercard, Fortinet, Shadowserver Foundation, and Trend AI.
As online fraud methods increasingly intertwine with other crimes such as drug trafficking, the importance of public-private cooperation in sharing information across borders is growing. This collaboration aims to identify and block criminal infrastructure early by linking private sector data and technology.
S2W, as a Korean partner in Interpol's 'Gateway Initiative,' utilized AI-based big data collection and analysis technology during the report's preparation to identify and classify content from African sources on dark web forums. The company confirmed a 62% increase in such content compared to the previous year, which included personal identification documents, SIM card PINs, bank account authentication information, and mobile financial account details. Many of these were identified as information leaked from past breaches, phishing campaigns, and compromised mobile applications.
According to the report, reported cybercrime-related losses in Africa surged from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million in 2025, more than doubling. The number of confirmed victims rose from 35,000 to 87,000 during the same period. Additionally, it was found that 55% of reported cybercrimes in Africa in 2025 involved some level of AI, which was exploited for automating phishing campaigns, creating deepfake impersonations, and generating synthetic identities for financial fraud, thereby increasing the speed, scale, and sophistication of attacks.
Neil Jettin, head of Interpol's Cybercrime Division, stated, “Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant threats in the African region. AI automates every stage of cyberattacks, from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.” He added, “However, we are also confirming that through international cooperation, we can identify, neutralize, and dismantle cybercrime infrastructure.”
Seo Sang-deok, CEO of S2W, remarked, “S2W has focused on closely analyzing the crime situation in developing countries that are relatively vulnerable to cyberattacks due to insufficient infrastructure and institutional foundations, providing high-quality intelligence that law enforcement agencies can practically use to fill security gaps.” He emphasized, “We will continue to enhance our AI-based global data collection and analysis technology to quickly capture signals of security threats occurring worldwide and support responses to transnational crime.”
S2W has been expanding its international cooperation activities since being selected as the first Korean partner in Interpol's global public-private cooperation program, the 'Gateway Initiative,' in October 2025. In 2026, it participated in 'Synergia III,' which addresses phishing, malware, and ransomware, supporting cybercrime tracking and malicious server identification. The company also collaborated in 'Cyber Protect III,' led by Interpol and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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