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Cybersafe Foundation, UK Govt help vulnerable groups, SMEs upskill on cybersecurity
CyberSafe Foundation, a leading non-governmental organization in the information security ecosystem in Nigeria, and its partners – Foreign CommonWealth & Development Office (FCDO), have hit the set targets to equip digitally vulnerable groups and Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with the knowledge and skills required to identify, protect, detect, defend and respond to COVID-19 instigated cyber threats, enabling a safe digital community.
The UK Government, through its Prosperity Fund Digital Access Programme, signed a grant agreement with CyberSafe Foundation to carry out the “Safe Digital Community during COVID-19 Project” as part of UK’s cyber risk mitigation support to Nigeria’s COVID-19 response.
The grant agreement which was signed by FCDO and CyberSafe Foundation on the 7th of September 2020, led to equipping digitally vulnerable groups and 1,504 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The Safe Digital Community Project directly benefited 1,504 SMEs across 35 States in Nigeria, and upskilled 3,057 employees in cyber safety essentials.
For the digitally vulnerable groups including people with limited digital experience, the project helped raise their awareness in safe cyber hygiene, enhance their online security and enable a safer digital community, reaching over 10 million people.
Speaking on the project, Confidence Staveley, Executive Director, Cybersafe Foundation thanked UKAID and 18 volunteer cyber security expert trainers for aligning with the Foundation to empower the participants, adding that through the ‘No Go Fall Maga’, cyber awareness comedy skits, more than 3.3 million people were educated on vishing, multi-factor authentication and phishing.
She said that beneficiaries cut across computing/technology, real estate, transport & services, oil & gas, retail/manufacturing, fashion, hospitality & leisure, healthcare, charity/NGO, education, consulting, financial services, amongst others.
Also, the partners executed massive work through the radio and did a novel cybersecurity awareness song in collaboration with Cobhams Asuquo which was played 3,973 times on 32 radio stations across Nigeria. In addition, 13 episodes of the No Go Fall Maga radio drama series created to drive awareness about cyber hygiene best practices, reached more than 5.2 million radio listeners.
During the project’s duration, an intensive social media mass awareness campaign saw close to 10 million people digesting 20 short cyber hygiene videos developed by the team.
Statistics also show that the SME upskilling and upscaling cyber security training garnered a lot of results. With 1,504 SMEs participating, 40.7% of the beneficiaries are female-owned.
Prior to the training, 57% of the beneficiaries could not identify a phishing email. However, post-training review indicates that 83% of them now understand prevalent attack vectors and preventive measures.
Interestingly, 76% have now implemented one or more security controls.
Staveley who is visibly elated by the growing testimonials from participants, said, “the impact has been massive and we are prepared to sustain the tempo even in 2021. We are going to increase the number of SMEs by 100%; in other words, we are targeting 3,000 SMEs in this rerun and will continue to use social media and radio to drive cybersecurity awareness. We are calling for SMEs to join the new batch for training. They can register via this link http://learn.cybersafefoundation.org/”.
Commenting on the project, the UK Government’s Head of Digital Access Programme and Country Adviser, Idongesit Udoh, said, “The first run of the Safe Digital Community During COVID-19 project recorded enormous impact courtesy of the excellent delivery by Cybersafe Foundation. The project afforded approximately 3057 employees the opportunity to get cybersecurity training, raising the bar in cybersecurity preparedness for Small and Medium Scale Businesses in Nigeria, also impacting millions via social media and radio.”
“This project demonstrates the UK Government’s continued support for Nigeria and its digital sector, recognizing the tech ecosystem’s role in inclusive growth and development. A rerun of this project will sustain the huge impact recorded by the CSF on cyber awareness and extend cyber capacity building to more SMES across the country during this pandemic where there is increased cyber risk for small businesses”.
Bosun Tijani, minister for Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy, has stated that the federal government is geared towards creating about one million technology jobs for teeming Nigerian youth.
Tijani stated this at the official opening of a solar-powered community ICT center built by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abeokuta, as part of activities marking the 38th Lisabi festival.
The minister emphasised the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to invest in the digital economy, driving inclusive growth and empowering the country’s teeming youth population.
“The president made it very clear when I came into office, that he will spend efforts and resources in creating one million technology jobs. So, for anybody that is following the development in the world today you will see that there’s no world without technology.
“There is a strong shortage of technology workforce all over the world, and while a lot of the developed countries have ageing population, and not giving birth to kids, in Nigeria, the average age is 16.9, so our young people are being projected to be the workforce of the future, not only for Nigeria.
“This center here is one of many. In the next two months, we are launching about 30 of them all over the country. This center will be properly animated and we will put resources into ensuring that there are courses for young people to come and take here.
“We are also going to ensure that there are job opportunities that we can connect them to and if anyone wants to follow, follow the three million Technical Talent Program which we have started already in the country”, he said.
He therefore charged the youth to remain focus, and not be discouraged, adding that there is massive employment opportunities in technology as there is no enough people to work in technology all over the world.
“If you ask anyone that works in technology, the entry salary is between N350,000 to N500,000. Technology pays really well, so instead of worrying about things being hard, they should take advantage of centers like this, empower themselves and go for the opportunities the world has to offer them”, he added.
Speaking earlier, Oba Adedotun Are, Alake and Paramount ruler of Egbaland, lauded President Tinubu for approving the centre in Abeokuta, saying that this has no doubt marked another new dawn for the people of Egbaland, given rapid growth, development, and economic empowerment of the people.
National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) has predicted that the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) will decline as Dangote Refinery and other local refineries commence full operations.
Speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, April 1, NIPSS Director-General Ayo Omotayo expressed optimism that fuel prices would fall once more refineries become operational.
He projected that petrol prices could drop to around N750 per litre before the end of the year with a more stable exchange rate.
“We’re looking at it coming down as low as N750 before the end of the year. And of course, foreign exchange will still drop to about 1.3 before the end of the year, and it is going to continue like that as more of our refineries come into place.
Omotayo acknowledged the current economic hardships but insisted that the policy would benefit Nigerians in the long run.Traditional Nigerian cuisine
“The gains at this time are very little, but in the long run, we will make up for whatever sacrifices we have made today as Nigerians” he stated
U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that a deal for the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations is expected to be finalized before the April 5 deadline.
U.S. President Donald Trump
The deadline, set by legislation passed in January, mandates TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. assets or face a nationwide ban due to national security concerns.
Multiple non-Chinese firms have expressed interest in acquiring TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Private equity firm Blackstone is considering a minority investment, potentially joining existing non-Chinese shareholders such as Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic.
In a strategic move to facilitate the sale, Trump suggested that he might consider a reduction in tariffs on China, acknowledging that Chinese regulatory approval may be required for the deal to proceed.
The White House has been actively involved in negotiations to ensure that TikTok remains operational in the U.S. while addressing national security risks.
With TikTok’s 170 million American users watching closely, the outcome of the sale is expected to have a major impact on the social media landscape and the broader tech industry.
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