4.5 billion threats: The trend shaping Africa’s entertainment future

Africa’s entertainment industry has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past decade. Since the digital migration, the way people consume content, from streaming shows on demand to watching live sports and paying for subscriptions via mobile money, has become deeply embedded in everyday life.

But with this digital convenience comes a growing responsibility: safeguarding the platforms, creators, and audiences from cyber threats.

In East Africa, cybersecurity has emerged as one of the defining challenges of our time. Kenya, for instance, boasts over 42 million internet users and more than 65 million mobile subscriptions, exceeding its total population.

Mobile money platforms like M-Pesa process over Sh9 trillion transactions annually, according to the Central Bank of Kenya. These figures reflect a continent rapidly embracing digital life, with over 490 million Africans now connected to mobile services and internet usage growing by double digits each year.

Yet this growth has also opened the door to cybercriminals. Cybercrime across Africa is projected to cost economies more than $4 billion annually, with piracy and fraud among the most damaging.

In Kenya alone, the National Kenya Computer Incidence Response Team – Coordination Centre (National KE-CIRT/CC) detected over 4.5 billion cyber threat events between April and June 2025, an 80 percent increase from the previous quarter. These numbers underscore the urgency of protecting Africa’s creative economy, which increasingly depends on secure digital infrastructure.

Piracy remains one of the most pressing threats. It drains billions from the entertainment sector each year, robbing actors, musicians, sports professionals, and production crews of their rightful earnings.

Nollywood, Africa’s largest film industry by volume, reportedly loses up to $1 billion annually to piracy. In Kenya, where the creative sector employs thousands, these losses directly impact jobs, investment, and growth.

Thankfully, the industry is fighting back. Technologies like forensic watermarking, content monitoring, and automated takedowns are disrupting pirate networks with reported success rates of up to 90 percent in shutting down illegal streams. Each victory protects the storytellers who bring Africa’s voice to the global stage and reinforces the value of original content.

Payments are another critical frontier in the cybersecurity battle. Nearly half of Africa’s adult population remains unbanked, prompting platforms to innovate around mobile money.

M-Pesa, for example, enables over 30 million users to send, receive, and pay securely. But as digital transactions scale, so do threats like fraudulent SIM swaps, phishing scams, and unauthorised access attempts.

To counter these risks, financial institutions, entertainment providers, and regulators are investing in robust authentication systems.

These efforts are vital to maintaining trust in digital platforms, which now serve millions of households accessing pay TV, streaming services, and live sports.

In 2024 alone, Africa produced over 1,000 original shows, 47,000 hours of live sports, and thousands of hours of local content, much of it distributed exclusively online. When cyberattacks compromise these platforms, it’s not just revenue that’s lost; it’s viewer confidence.

Artificial intelligence is also reshaping the entertainment landscape.

On sports platforms, AI-generated real-time highlights offer instant recaps to fans, even mid-match. AI is enhancing user experience, streamlining content delivery, and enabling smarter recommendations. But it also introduces new vulnerabilities that must be addressed with equal innovation.

Flexibility is another area where Africa is rewriting the playbook. Economic constraints mean that traditional subscription models don’t always fit. In Uganda, for example, the concept of “micro-subscriptions” allows viewers to pay for access in increments as short as seven days.

Ultimately, Africa views technology not just as a tool, but as a symbol of innovation and inner strength. For millions of subscribers and thousands of creators, secure digital platforms are the backbone of survival.

That’s why providers are investing in the next generation of innovators, organising hackathons, forming university partnerships, and encouraging students to design AI-powered solutions for uniquely African challenges.

This spirit of homegrown innovation is essential. Africa has consistently shown its ability to leapfrog traditional hurdles through bold, creative thinking.

The cybersecurity battle in entertainment is no exception. As digital adoption grows, so will the threats—but so too will the opportunities to build resilient, inclusive, and secure systems.

The writer is the Head of Operations Support at MultiChoice Kenya