A joint cybersecurity capacity-building programme led by Kaspersky and the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) is strengthening digital crime-fighting capabilities across Nigeria and 22 other African countries, as both organisations deepen collaboration to tackle rising cyber threats on the continent.
The initiative, delivered under a cooperation agreement signed in 2024, is training African law enforcement officers, including Nigeria, in advanced cyber defence techniques, with a focus on equipping agencies with operational skills to investigate and respond to increasingly sophisticated and borderless cybercrime.
According to a statement made available to Technology Times, under the programme, about 40 officers drawn from 23 African countries, including Nigeria, have undergone specialised “Security Operations and Threat Hunting” training between November 2025 and March 2026. The sessions are providing hands-on exposure to core Security Operations Center (SOC) workflows and modern cyber defence practices.
AU champions operational skills in cybersecurity for African law enforcement officers
Participants are being trained to detect malicious activity across Windows and Linux systems, analyse attacker tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), and apply threat intelligence in identifying advanced persistent threats, according to the organisers.
The training also includes interactive online sessions with experts from Kaspersky’s Security Services team, enabling participants to interrogate real-world cyber incident scenarios and deepen their technical understanding of digital investigations.
The alliance reflects a broader push by the African Union to strengthen institutional cybersecurity resilience as cybercrime continues to escalate in complexity and scale, affecting governments, businesses and critical infrastructure across the continent.
Yuliya Shlychkova, Vice President, Public Affairs at Kaspersky, says that cross-sector collaboration remains critical in addressing the evolving cyber threat landscape.
She explains that cybercrime has become highly sophisticated and transnational, making cooperation between private cybersecurity firms and law enforcement agencies essential to effective response strategies.
According to her, the partnership with AFRIPOL is enabling knowledge transfer based on real-world cyber investigations, helping African officers build practical expertise in threat detection and incident response.
Dr Mohammed Benaired, Head of Training and Capacity Building at AFRIPOL, says the initiative is enhancing the ability of law enforcement agencies across member states to investigate cyber incidents and analyse digital evidence.
She explains that cybercrime has become highly sophisticated and transnational, making cooperation between private cybersecurity firms and law enforcement agencies essential to effective response strategies.
He notes that partnerships with private sector players such as Kaspersky are helping African police organisations stay updated on emerging threat trends and modern investigative techniques.
AFRIPOL, the African Union’s dedicated police cooperation platform, is mandated to strengthen collaboration among law enforcement agencies across its 55 member states in tackling transnational crimes, including cybercrime and terrorism.
The current training programme builds on a five-year agreement signed in 2024, which formalises cooperation between Kaspersky and AFRIPOL in areas including threat intelligence sharing and cybersecurity capacity development.
The agreement also supports joint efforts to analyse cybercriminal activity and improve information security capabilities among African law enforcement institutions.
Kaspersky says its expert training programmes have been deployed globally to strengthen cybersecurity competencies, with more than 3,000 specialists trained across 50 countries to date.
The company’s training portfolio spans multiple domains, including reverse engineering, incident response and advanced threat hunting, designed to address varying levels of technical expertise.
For Nigeria, participation in the AU–Kaspersky initiative aligns with ongoing efforts to strengthen national cybersecurity readiness amid growing digital adoption and exposure to cyber risks.
The programme is expected to bolster the country’s law enforcement capabilities in combating cybercrime, particularly as Nigeria continues to expand its digital economy and online services ecosystem.
Across Africa, the collaboration signals a growing recognition of cybersecurity as a critical pillar of digital transformation, requiring coordinated action between governments, regional bodies and private sector technology providers.
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