(JUBA) – Africa faces a growing risk of becoming a hub for cybercrime if control over its internet addresses falls into the wrong hands, a danger that has intensified as the body managing them edges toward collapse.
On July 28, ICT ministers from across Africa held a virtual meeting to try to save the Africa Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), the body responsible for allocating internet protocol addresses across the continent. AfriNIC is currently under receivership and facing potential collapse, threatening Africa’s control over one of its most critical digital resources: Version 4 internet protocol addresses (IPv4).
These addresses uniquely identify devices online and are essential for internet communication. They are a globally scarce resource, and AfriNIC, one of the world’s five regional internet registries, is the official custodian of Africa’s internet numbers. However, a series of lawsuits from Cloud Innovation, a former client, has paralyzed the organisation.
“Allowing AfriNIC to fail is as good as selling our freedom to Cloud Innovation,” said Thelma Quaye, director of infrastructure, skills and empowerment at Smart Africa, an African Union-backed initiative to expand digital access.
She added that the company has the financial power to start leasing IP addresses within Africa, often without African interests in mind.
Cloud Innovation, registered in Seychelles, received about six million IPv4 addresses between 2013 and 2016 to support Virtual Private Network services in Africa. AfriNIC terminated its membership in July 2021, citing policy breaches including reselling addresses outside the continent, unauthorised sub-allocations, and refusal to cooperate with audits. The company responded with at least 52 lawsuits in Mauritius and Seychelles, draining AfriNIC’s finances. As a non profit, AfriNIC relies solely on lease fees from network operators.
Experts warn that other actors may also be exploiting AfriNIC’s weakness to divert scarce IPv4 addresses offshore. Africa remains the only region that has not exhausted its IPv4 share, which accounts for just five percent of the global pool.
“There are new versions such as IPv6 and Autonomous System Numbers, but IPv4 remains critical. Most internet infrastructure is built on it, and transitioning to IPv6 is costly,” Ms Quaye explained.
The stakes extend beyond scarcity. If non-African actors gain control of Africa’s IPv4 addresses, they could restrict African access and use the addresses for cybercrime that appears to originate from the continent. “There are economic and legal consequences. Investigative agencies may trace cybercrime to Africa, even if the activity occurs elsewhere,” Ms Quaye added.
Ahead of the September 30 deadline for electing new AfriNIC board members, African ICT ministers have urged the receiver to ensure a timely, free, and fair election. They also called for a multistakeholder dialogue and mobilisation of domestic AfriNIC members to safeguard the organisation’s future.
