As Africa’s digital payment ecosystem experiences a historic surge in volume—processing over $1.5 trillion in transactions annually—a new frontline of defense has emerged. Today, a pan-African coalition of civil society organizations and technical experts officially announced the launch of DNS Abuse Watch for Africa.
This landmark initiative is the first of its kind to focus specifically on the intersection of Domain Name System (DNS) abuse and the unique vulnerabilities of African financial infrastructure.
The Invisible Threat to African Fintech
While Africa’s “fintech explosion” has driven financial inclusion for millions, it has also attracted sophisticated cyber-adversaries. DNS abuse—which includes phishing, malware distribution, and pharming—is often the “quiet” precursor to massive financial fraud.
“For too long, the monitoring of DNS threats has been centralized in the Global North, often overlooking the specific patterns we see in African markets,” said Christabel Mebaghandu, the ACSIG Director of Engagement and Outreach. “DNS Abuse Watch is our answer. We are no longer just reacting to global trends; we are monitoring our own digital borders.”
The DNS Abuse Watch, created as a multi-stakeholder fortress will operates on a hybrid model that blends grassroots civil society advocacy with high-level technical monitoring. The coalition’s core mission is built on three pillars:
1. Real-Time Pattern Recognition
Using advanced telemetry, the coalition monitors domain registrations that mimic African banks, mobile money operators (MMOs), and government e-portals. By identifying these “look-alike” domains before they go live in phishing campaigns, the coalition can trigger preemptive takedowns.
2. Monitoring the “Last Mile” of Payment Security
African payment systems often rely on a mix of USSD, mobile apps, and web gateways. DNS Abuse Watch specifically tracks:
- Phishing clusters targeting regional giants like M-Pesa, Flutterwave, and Interswitch.
- DNS Hijacking attempts that redirect users from legitimate banking login pages to fraudulent clones.
- Subdomain abuse on “free” hosting services often used to bypass traditional filters.
3. Civil Society Advocacy
Beyond the code, the coalition serves as a bridge to policy. It will provide African regulators and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) with localized data to ensure that global DNS policies reflect the realities of the African digital landscape.
Recent data from the 2025 African Cyber-Threat Report highlighted that DNS-level attacks in the region increased by 38% over the last 18 months. With the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) driving cross-border digital payments, the “attack surface” has never been larger.
“A single compromised domain can undermine the trust of an entire rural community in digital banking,” noted Dr. Adebunmi Akinbo, a digital rights advocate involved in the launch. “DNS Abuse Watch is about more than just security; it’s about protecting the trust that fuels our economic growth.”
Looking Ahead
The DNS Abuse Watch is reaching out to AfriNIC and Internet Society Pulse to connect to already established “Observation Nodes” in five regional hubs: Lagos, Nairobi, Casablanca, Johannesburg, and Accra. The coalition plans to release its first Quarterly State of the African DNS report in June 2026, providing the first-ever comprehensive look at how malicious actors are attempting to de-rail the continent’s digital future. It welcomes all partners. In its announcement, the Africa Civil Society on Internet Governance (ACSIG) is calling for interested volunteers for this project.
How to Get Involved
The coalition is currently accepting applications from technical volunteers and civil society groups across the continent. Send your Expression of Interest (EoI) to watch@dnsafrica.org, with the subject: “DNS Abuse Watch – Volunteer“.
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