Retail Sector Emerges as Prime Cyberattack Target Across Middle East and Africa

Retail Industry Under Sustained Cyber Assault

Despite ongoing geopolitical conflicts and advanced threats to critical infrastructure, the retail sector has emerged as one of the most frequently targeted industries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, according to recent threat intelligence reports. Cybersecurity firm SOCRadar’s annual “MEA Threat Landscape Report” indicates that retailers face attack volumes comparable to or exceeding those targeting telecommunications and banking sectors, presenting a counterintuitive finding in a region typically associated with politically motivated cyber operations.

Surprising Targeting Patterns Revealed

Between September 2024 and September 2025, the public sector ranked as the most targeted industry in MENA based on Dark Web threat activity monitoring, with finance and IT completing the top three. However, retail attacks consistently appeared within the top five targeted sectors, despite dropping from its second-place ranking in the previous year’s report. Analysts suggest this persistent targeting reflects the attractive economics of attacking smaller retailers who process substantial credit card volumes but often lack robust security measures.

The report tracked retail as a distinct category separate from electronic shopping and mail-order houses, which itself ranked seventh among the most targeted industries. This distinction highlights the breadth of cybercriminal interest across both physical and digital retail operations throughout the region.

Economics Drive Retail Targeting

Sources indicate that financially motivated threat actors find retail targets particularly appealing due to their operational constraints and valuable data. Certis Foster, senior threat hunter lead at security firm Deepwatch, explained that “small to medium retailers process plenty of credit cards, but they are typically not in a position to implement adequate security measures at a high cost. Actors believe they can break in easily and immediately sell the credit card numbers on the Dark Web for quick cash.”

Foster further noted that the time sensitivity of retail operations creates additional pressure: “Plus, these stores can’t be closed for more than a day, so they’re more likely to pay ransoms quickly to get back up and running.” This combination of factors makes retailers particularly vulnerable to extortion-based attacks., according to further reading

Regional Ransomware Anomalies

The report uncovered unexpected patterns in ransomware distribution across the Middle East and Africa. Pakistan experienced twice as many ransomware attacks as any other country in the region, accounting for more than a third of all documented incidents. Saudi Arabia experienced only half the ransomware volume targeting Pakistan during the reporting period.

Analysts suggest that “the large concentration suggests that attackers see it as a high-return target, likely due to weaker defenses across key industries.” This finding challenges assumptions that more technologically advanced or politically contentious nations would naturally attract the most ransomware activity.

Attribution Challenges and Emerging Threats

Perhaps most concerning to cybersecurity professionals is the anonymity surrounding most MENA ransomware attacks. According to the report, 71.4% of 2025 ransomware attacks in the region were executed by smaller groups, one-off operations, or completely unknown threat actors.

“It doesn’t sit well with me knowing that the community has never heard of the majority of these actors,” Foster commented. “It gives me the sense that it’s becoming easier for them and anyone else to do it now, where they can purchase a ransomware kit and start attacking.” This proliferation of accessible attack tools potentially lowers the barrier to entry for cybercriminals targeting the region.

Data Collection Questions Remain

The report’s geographical scope raised questions about cyberattack patterns across the broader African continent. Notably, not a single country south of the Sahara appeared in SOCRadar’s data, prompting inquiries about whether this reflects collection methodology or genuinely lower attack rates in those regions. Researchers continue to investigate whether this absence indicates reporting gaps or meaningful security differences across the continent.

As retail operations increasingly digitize their operations across Middle Eastern and African markets, cybersecurity experts warn that the sector’s attractiveness to financially motivated hackers will likely continue, requiring enhanced defensive measures and greater awareness of the evolving threat landscape.

References

• https://socradar.io/resources/report/mea-threat-landscape-report-2025/#:~:tex…
• https://socradar.io/…/SOCRadar-MEA-Regional-Threat-Landscape-Report.pdf
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MENA
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ransomware
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_web
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattack
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications

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