MTN Confirms Cyberattack, Customer Data Possibly Exposed in Select Regions

MTN Group, Africa’s largest mobile network provider, has confirmed experiencing a cybersecurity breach that exposed personal information of customers in some of its markets. However, the company did not disclose which specific countries were affected.

In a statement issued late Thursday, the telecoms giant assured the public that its core systems—including its network infrastructure, billing platforms, and financial services—were not compromised and continue to function normally.

The breach was traced to unauthorized access by a third party into certain areas of its system, sparking concerns about data exposure. Despite this, MTN emphasized that, at present, there is no evidence that customers’ accounts or digital wallets have been directly affected.

Upon identifying the breach, the company quickly activated its cybersecurity response procedures. Authorities in South Africa, including the South African Police Service and the Hawks, have been informed, alongside regulators in the countries affected. MTN is cooperating fully with these bodies while continuing to investigate the incident. The company also mentioned that it is notifying impacted customers in accordance with local laws.

In response to the breach, MTN is encouraging customers to take extra precautions by placing fraud alerts on their credit reports, updating mobile and banking applications regularly, using strong and frequently changed passwords, avoiding unfamiliar links and messages, and refraining from sharing sensitive data like PINs or OTPs. Customers are also advised to enable multifactor authentication wherever possible.

MTN reiterated that protecting customer data is a top priority and pledged to manage the situation with transparency, promising to share further updates as the investigation progresses.

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The incident highlights the increasing cyber threats facing telecom and financial service providers. Just last week, South Korea’s SK Telecom revealed that malware had infiltrated its systems, granting attackers access to sensitive user identification information—demonstrating the growing global challenge of securing digital infrastructure.