From Cyberwar to Cognitive Warfare: The Geopolitical Impact on Cybersecurity in Africa

This analytical brief examines how geopolitical forces shape cybersecurity in Africa across infrastructure (China-built digital backbone and resulting dependencies), influence operations (coordinated disinformation and cognitive warfare exploiting local grievances), and governance (Western-influenced legal frameworks). It argues that modern threats are often quiet, persistent efforts to shape perception rather than disruptive attacks, and calls for societal resilience—media literacy, cross-sector collaboration, and treating cybersecurity as a public good—to protect economies, sovereignty, and public trust.