Cybersecurity Tops Africa's Organisational Risks
A new Institute of Internal Auditors report finds cybersecurity is the leading risk for organisations across the continent, with fewer than a quarter of respondents reporting full internal audit coverage.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Cybersecurity
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The Institute of Internal Auditors' 2026/2027 Africa Risk in Focus report finds cybersecurity to be the leading organisational risk across Africa. Seventy-three percent of African respondents ranked it among their five biggest risks.
Why it matters
The gap between how seriously organisations rate cybersecurity risk and how fully internal audit covers it highlights a potential vulnerability for businesses and institutions operating across the region. The findings give boards and audit leaders a benchmark for reassessing their own oversight.
The Africa analysis draws on 816 responses from 34 African countries and locations, against a global base of 3,285 chief audit executives and directors across 132 countries and locations. Fewer than a quarter of respondents reported full internal audit coverage of cybersecurity, and the report does not say how that coverage is distributed across sectors.
The players
Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
The IIA is a global professional body for internal auditors that publishes the Risk in Focus series of reports on emerging organisational risks.
IIA South Africa
IIA South Africa is the national chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, hosting an annual national conference for the profession.
The details
The report, drawn from a global survey of chief audit executives and directors, was supplemented by three roundtables with 18 participants and three in-depth interviews to inform the Africa analysis. Geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty also featured, with more than a third of respondents ranking it among their five biggest risks, though only 15% placed it among their top audit priorities. Financial services respondents showed the strongest alignment between cybersecurity risk and audit priority.
Timeline
2026/2027: Africa Risk in Focus report covers this audit period.
23 to 25 November 2026: IIA South Africa Annual National Conference takes place.
Industry Context
This edition extends the IIA's global Risk in Focus series, which applies a single chief-audit-executive survey methodology across regions, to an African subset of 816 responses. Placing Africa's results beside the 3,285-respondent global study lets readers see where the continent's cybersecurity priorities diverge from or match other regions.
For organisations and professionals across Africa, the finding signals that cybersecurity should be a standing item on audit plans rather than an occasional review. Leaders can use the report's benchmark of fewer than a quarter with full coverage to test their own oversight.
The takeaway
Organisations that treat cybersecurity as a top-five risk should confirm that their internal audit plans cover it fully, since the survey shows most organisations do not yet do so. Closing that gap is the most direct step a board or audit committee can take.
Further reading
For broader context on how these threats are being managed, explore the latest Cybersecurity coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by IT-Online.
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