Marrakech – Since 2004, more than 18.5 million accounts in Morocco have been compromised, ranking the nation 60th worldwide for the total number of breached accounts. This alarming figure accounts for approximately 0.1% of all global data breaches, according to a report from Surfshark.
The frequency of breaches in Morocco is escalating, with a troubling 125% increase observed in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the preceding quarter. This decade alone has witnessed a staggering 8,655,015 breaches in the country, translating to an average of 22,621 breaches per 100,000 citizens.
Notable incidents include a breach involving 3.3 billion unique emails from Addka, affecting 1,793,702 Moroccan accounts, as well as significant breaches from Wattpad and Aptoide, which compromised 695,475 and 158,324 accounts, respectively. In the North African context, Morocco trails Egypt, which ranks 50th globally with 25.9 million compromised accounts, yet surpasses Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya in breach totals, thereby positioning itself as the second-highest in terms of breached accounts in the region.
On a broader scale, the total global count of breached accounts has escalated to an astonishing 23.1 billion since 2004, with about 7.7 billion linked to unique email addresses. This raises significant concerns, as many users tend to use the same email across various platforms, leading to multiple breaches for a single account.
Globally, it’s estimated that an average email address has been compromised approximately three times, with 94 unique email addresses breached for every 100 individuals. The current cyber risk environment in Morocco has intensified, particularly after several high-profile breaches in 2025, including a major leak from the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) that exposed over a million records and thousands of payroll-related documents online.
In another instance, a potential data exposure concerning the land registry was investigated by Morocco’s cyber authority, DGSSI. Their findings revealed that the leak originated solely from the tawtik.ma platform used by notaries, rather than the ANCFCC systems, initially raised concerns but was effectively addressed.
According to Kaspersky’s 2025 report, Morocco is now ranked as one of Africa’s top targets for cyberattacks, placing third in web-based threats with over 12.6 million attack attempts recorded in 2024. The report highlights a continent-wide surge in specific threats, such as spyware, password stealers, and on-device threats, all of which elevate the risk of account takeovers.
In response, both authorities and businesses are enhancing their cybersecurity measures. The Moroccan government has established a national Cybersecurity Innovation Center (CIC) in partnership with Mohammed V University to promote research, training, and a coordinated response to cyber threats, as part of broader upgrades to the nation’s digital infrastructure.
However, attackers continue to exploit supply chain vulnerabilities, as seen with a significant admin-creation flaw affecting over 100,000 WordPress sites, allowing for potential silent account compromises in systems that are not promptly patched. While improvements are being made, the prevailing risk necessitates a proactive stance from both organizations and users. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA), keeping software updated, and closely monitoring for credential theft are critical steps in mitigating the risks associated with mass account breaches, as illustrated by recent events.
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