Telecom
Africa Still too Trusting of Email Communication – Report
While 65% of Africans surveyed are concerned about cybercrime, 53% think that trusting emails from people they know is good enough; 28% have fallen for a phishing email and 50% have had a malware infection.
Additionally, 64% don’t know what ransomware is and yet believe they can easily identify a security threat, and 52% don’t know what multi-factor authentication is.
These are some of the key findings from the 2019 KnowBe4 African Report, released by global security awareness training and simulated phishing platform KnowBe4.
The report is based on feedback from respondents across Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.
KnowBe4 said that of all countries surveyed, Kenyans (75%) and South Africans (74%) were the most concerned about the risk of cyber crime and yet respondents were comfortable giving away their personal information as long as they understood what it was being used for (Kenyans 26.59% and South Africans 57%).
“It’s a worrying trend – many phishing scams will use any means necessary to tease out valuable nuggets of personal information and phone calls or emails from so-called ‘trusted sources’ are among the most common methods used,” the company stated.
According to KnowBe4, the problem is that most users are not aware of how cyber criminals operate and the tools that they use.
“More than half of respondents across all eight countries felt very confident that they would recognise a security incident or issue if they saw one, but a significant percentage have had a PC infection, and more than a quarter had fallen for a scam. In South Africa, 50% of respondents had their PCs infected, while in Kenya, Ghana and Egypt, this number rose to 67%.”
The KnowBe4 survey also found that even though nearly half of respondents across all eight countries felt that their organisations had trained them adequately, a quarter of them didn’t know what a ransomware was. For South Africans, a worrying 31.5% thought that a cyber threat that encrypts files and demands payments was a Trojan virus and 26.9% of Kenyans agreed.
Egypt and Morocco thought it was a drive-by download, while Ghana thought it was a botnet.
“More than 50% of respondents are not aware of what multi-factor authentication is or the benefit thereof. Using stolen credentials was the third most common attack vector used in successful breaches and applying multi-factor authentication, which is combining your password with something that you own, such as a One-Time-Password app on your phone, which reduces this risk significantly,” the company added.
According to the report email security is one of the biggest threats facing the average user – with over 70% of those surveyed using email to collaborate.
KnowBe4 stated: “Most people don’t realise what a risky email looks like or how their actions can result in their systems becoming infected. While more than half of respondents in Botswana, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco and Mauritius have enough security smarts to avoid clicking on links or opening attachments they don’t expect, a startling 46% still trusted emails from people they knew. In South Africa, those statistics are completely turned around – more than half of respondents (52%) trust emails from people they know, while only 49.5% don’t open attachments they have not expected.”
“Email remains one of the most successful forms of cyber attack today for this very reason. People are quick to click on links or attachments sent to them from people who they know, not realising that cyber criminals have potentially hacked or spoofed (impersonated) their friend’s, colleague’s or suppliers’ systems to spread malware, or launch other forms of attacks.”
The company also expressed concern that phishing and social engineering attacks have spread to other communication channels, particularly WhatsApp – and given that the platform is in use over 90% in Africa, this was a serious concern.
“Training in cybersecurity threats, methodologies, entry points and vulnerabilities has become critical for the organisation. This not only helps to minimise the growing risk of human error that’s allowing threats to bypass their complex and powerful security systems, but helps to protect their employees,” KnowBe4 added.
Cyber security specialists believe businesses should adopt the stance of ‘expecting an attack’ in order to improve their preparedness and have controls in place to detect and prevent before major damage is caused.
The premise is that it is not enough to have systems in place to detect and notify of attacks, there must be the ability to stop an attack.
Telecom
Paradigm Initiative Champions Digital Rights and Inclusion at Africa IGF 2025 in Dar es Salaam
Paradigm Initiative (PIN) has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing digital rights and inclusion across Africa following its active participation in the 2025 Africa Internet Governance Forum (AfIGF), held in Dar es Salaam from May 29 to 31.
The forum convened diverse stakeholders from governments, civil society, the private sector, and academia to explore pressing internet governance issues under the theme “Building a Resilient Digital Ecosystem that Supports Africa’s Sustainable Growth and Global Leadership.”
PIN’s delegation contributed to conversations around digital security, digital rights and inclusion policy and compliance, emerging technologies, global governance, highlighting digital threats and making recommendations for an inclusive and rights-respecting digital landscape. Drawing from its research and advocacy efforts across the continent, the organisation offered practical policy recommendations aimed at fostering an open, secure, and human rights-respecting digital environment.
“The Africa IGF continues to serve as a critical space for shaping Africa’s digital future. We were pleased to contribute insights and amplify the urgent need for inclusive and rights-centric digital governance,” said ‘Gbenga Sesan, Paradigm Initiative’s Executive Director.
During the forum, PIN hosted and participated in multiple sessions, including: A panel on protecting civic space online, a workshop on bridging the digital divide through inclusive policies, and bilateral meetings with regional and global partners on shaping digital governance frameworks in the lead-up to key global internet governance conversations.
PIN’s presence at the AfIGF 2025 not only spotlighted emerging digital threats but also underscored its commitment to ensuring that all technological advancements and policies globally translate into greater digital freedoms and opportunities, not restrictions.
As part of its ongoing advocacy, the organisation will continue to engage with stakeholders across sectors to ensure that digital transformation in Africa is anchored in rights, equity, and inclusion.
MTN Nigeria today held the opening ceremony for the 2025 edition of 21Days of Y’ello Care, the company’s annual employee volunteerism initiative.
This year’s campaign, themed “Connecting at the Roots – Connecting Communities through Digital Tools,” will run from June 1 to June 21, 2025, and focuses on supporting communities that continue to face barriers to digital access and connectivity.
MTN Nigeria kicked off on Sunday June 1 with trainings across different locations in Lagos where staff of the company volunteered to delivered training in valuable areas such as digital marketing and personal branding and employability skills.
In line with the Group-wide campaign theme, MTN Nigeria is implementing a series of grassroots initiatives aimed at expanding digital inclusion and connectivity in underserved areas.
Planned activities include equipping schools and community youth centres with devices, digital literacy workshops, deployment of community Wi-Fi access points, support for digital entrepreneurship and the establishment of an all-in-one Y’ello Pods across the country that will provide a digital hub for learning and support financial inclusion.
Speaking at the opening ceremony held in Lagos, Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria said, Y’ello Care matters to us because we’re a digital company and we’re operating in an environment where there are so many needs. At MTN Nigeria, we care, and we want to show our direct connection and responsibility to the communities we operate in.
Now in its 18th year, Y’ello Care is a groupwide flagship MTN employee volunteering initiative that encourages MTNers to volunteer their time and expertise to support positive social change.
The campaign reflects MTN’s purpose to enable the benefits of a modern connected life for everyone and is anchored in the company’s core values.
In 2024, in a remarkable demonstration of corporate volunteerism, MTN staff, through the Y’ello Care initiative, reconstructed a school block at Iwerekun Community High School, Lakowe. This effort has restored hope and significantly improved learning conditions for both students and teachers.
For further information, updates on “21 Days of Y’ello Care”and MTN Nigeria’s commitment to social development, please visit yellocare.ng or follow us on social media.
Fresh, on-the-ground evidence from health planners and climate analysts in Rwanda, Nigeria and South Africa shows how the Open Buildings dataset, which maps more than 1.8 billion structures, is helping frontline projects close service gaps and strengthen community resilience.
Across the continent, artificial-intelligence tools are graduating from pilots to public-service workhorses, powering everything from crop-price forecasts to live language translation. Open Buildings—developed by researchers at Google Research Africa—is part of that shift, proving that open, locally guided AI can turn sparse data into timely decisions without locking African problem-solvers behind paywalls or proprietary gates.
In Rwanda, the Ministry of Health and Kigali-based Sand Technologies resited rural clinics with help from the dataset. Their new blueprint aims to bring 92% of citizens within a 30-minute reach of care, trimming journeys that put mothers and newborns at risk.
Across Northern Nigeria, epidemiologists at AFENET and geographers from WorldPop uncovered 10,250 buildings, guiding vaccinators who reached 70% of the zero-dose and under-immunized children identified through the mapping in just six months.
Meanwhile, the World Resources Institute (WRI) has already applied this flood-risk modelling in Dire Dawa, Kigali, Musanze, Gqeberha and Johannesburg, combining two-dimensional hydraulic simulations with building footprints to create block-by-block exposure maps.
The need is pressing: Nairobi is still recovering from the May 2024 floods that displaced more than 278 000 residents, while Johannesburg’s rapid growth along the flood-prone Jukskei River continues to heighten vulnerability
These projects tackle challenges felt across the continent. Africa still has about 8.7 million “zero-dose” children who receive no routine vaccines each year, while the urban population is projected to almost double to nearly one billion people by 2035— forcing new homes into high-risk floodplains and informal settlements.
By giving ministries, city engineers and NGOs a street-level view of where communities are growing and how they change over time, the Open Buildings dataset lets limited budgets flow to the people and places that need them most.
Dr Aisha Walcott-Bryant, Research Scientist & Head, Google Research Africa, “These projects show what happens when local expertise meets open, scalable technology: mothers reach clinics sooner, children receive long-overdue vaccines, and city planners get ahead of the next flood.
“We’re thrilled to stand beside partners who turn data into decisive action, proving that AI’s highest calling is to solve real-world challenges.”
From lifesaving clinics to climate-smart cities, these projects show how open AI is fast becoming Africa’s quiet engine for equitable progress.
The Open Buildings dataset—along with sample code, tutorials and its new 2.5D layer—is freely available at g.co/openbuildings.
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