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E-Business

Africa’s Cybersecurity Laws Ignore Local Environment- Experts

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Cybersecurity experts have decried cyber security laws in Africa that are not addressing peculiar cyber- attacks, hence a big challenge in the prosecution of cyber criminals.

 

They argued that most of the cyber security laws in Nigeria and other African countries are borrowed from Asian countries which address tools, techniques and processes of cyber -attacks that have changed.

 

William Makatiani, managing director, Serianu, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, that Cyber security changes very fast hence laws addressing it must constantly be reviewed.

 

“Four years ago we didn’t know about Ransomeware, we didn’t know about crypto mining, crypto mining is a biggest thing today. What we see across the world is instead of us to focus on technology, we focus on principles of a crime which means at the end of the day it is fraud, unauthorised access, as well as sabotage and those were the results of somebody coming in and compromising in an environment.

 

“Most of our laws are copy and paste especially from Malaysia, Singapore. We copy our laws from those countries across Africa and if you look at the laws we have in place, they focus a lot on tools and techniques and that is what is out-dated.

 

“The tools, techniques and processes of attacking have changed. We have to change from focusing so much on tools, techniques and processes and focus on fraud. For instance, somebody did A,B,C,D whichever way they did it, it is still a fraud.

 

“Criminals 100 years ago were interested in stealing money, information about you, interested in making sure you don’t move, it is the same thing today. Criminal are interested in stealing money from banks, making sure you don’t provide service, interested in stealing Intellectual Property (IP) or private data. In terms of motive they have not changed, intentions have not changed and therefore we have to build flexible laws that address motives, intensions and the principles of what the laws are trying to achieve to deter,” he said.

 

Corroborating Makatiani, Remi Afon, member, Board of Trustees of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria, said that cyber- crime is dynamic and changes from time to time.

 

“When the cyber- crime law was passed a few years ago, there was no mention of cyptocurrency. A lot of cyber -criminal were not in the dark web. So there is a need for cybercrime laws to keep changing to keep pace with the activities in cyberspace.

 

Makatiani further urged African countries as a way of building skills in cyber security to review curriculum of technology programmes in colleges

 

“If I was an ambitious leader I will cancel quite a number of technology programmes in our colleges, they are wasting time. Get in touch with the industry; get some professional from other countries to look at the areas of Artificial Intelligent, and Analytics, look at the areas of cyber security to build practical programmes.

 

“Start with forcing graduates to do one to two years’ programme where they learn practical, set up research foundations behind these new technologies, because if you don’t do it now, even smaller countries like Rwanda, Botswana Mauritius will be more powerful than bigger countries like even South Africa, Nigeria. In some of these areas, the problem is to start early.

 

“More so, they need to change the curriculum, the curriculum we have now is useless, yes it builds the people to the level where you can convert them, but it doesn’t build the curiosity to continue building your capability into analytics crypto. If you look at the curriculums of those in the United States, UK and Europe even Rwanda and Mauritius you see the embedding of these new technologies, new media first of all you have to start with that.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

E-Business

Court Affirms ARCON’s Power to Regulate Ads on Social Media, Others

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Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has declared that Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has the legal authority to regulate advertising across all media platforms, including traditional outlets such as print and broadcast, as well as digital and social media.

Court Affirms ARCON’s Power to Regulate Ads on Social Media, Others

The landmark ruling strengthens the regulatory powers of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria.

The ruling was delivered by Honourable Justice Aluko in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1262/2024, filed by Digi Bay Limited (trading under the name and style of Betway Nigeria), Super Group Limited, and Otunba Kunle Olamuyiwa against the Attorney General of the Federation and ARCON.

The originating summons, dated 12 July 2024, sought a judicial determination of ARCON’s powers, particularly concerning advertising content published on digital platforms and by individuals not registered as advertising practitioners.

The court held that ARCON possesses the statutory authority to regulate all forms of advertising, regardless of the platform on which they appear.

The judgement also stated unequivocally that ARCON’s regulatory mandate extends beyond registered advertising agencies and includes private individuals who engage in advertising activities.

Justice Aluko emphasised that the determining factor is the nature of the activity—advertising—not the status of the individual or entity as a practitioner or non-practitioner.

One of the most significant outcomes of the ruling was the court’s position on social media regulation, affirming that ARCON, as the apex regulatory body in the nation’s advertising ecosystem, has the power to regulate advertisements on platforms such as Instagram, despite being privately owned.

The court noted that social media platforms are publicly accessible spaces used to broadcast advertising to wide audiences and, as such, fall under ARCON’s jurisdiction.

Regarding whether ARCON has the power to impose sanctions or fines on erring individuals or entities, the court provided clarity by affirming that ARCON may issue letters of violation or notices of infractions.

However, the power to determine and impose sanctions, it stated, resides solely with the Advertising Offences Tribunal, as prescribed by law.

The court also ruled that all advertising content—whether created by agencies, organisations, or individuals—must be vetted and approved by ARCON before being published or aired.

This decision reinforces ARCON’s role as the central authority responsible for ensuring that all advertising materials conform to ethical and professional standards, regardless of the platform.

Several practitioners in the nation’s advertising sector view the judgement as a significant legal victory for ARCON, especially in light of the increasing challenges it has faced since transitioning from the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) to ARCON under a revised legal framework, which extended the scope and influence of its powers.

In recent years, the agency has faced legal and media scrutiny from various quarters regarding the extent of its regulatory powers, particularly in the rapidly growing and often unregulated digital advertising space.

The decision, they argued, will have far-reaching implications for content creators, influencers, advertisers, and brands operating within the country, as compliance with ARCON’s vetting and regulatory processes becomes legally binding.

The ruling also signals a new phase in Nigeria’s advertising industry, where regulatory oversight will no longer be limited to traditional media and certain digital channels but will encompass the entire spectrum of public communication.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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E-Business

Zoho Suspends $700m Chipmaking Plan

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Zoho, Indian software firmhas suspended its year-long pursuit of a $700 million plan to expand into chip manufacturing, its co-founder said, confirming a story and dealing another blow to the Indian government’s semiconductor plans.

Zoho Suspends $700m Chipmaking Plan

Zoho struggled to find the right technology partner required to advise on complex chipmaking processes, one source familiar with the matter told newsmen earlier.

Report said that Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s group has also paused discussions with Israel’s Tower Semiconductor for its $10 billion chip project following an internal evaluation by the Indian group.

Zoho, valued at around $12 billion, offers cheaper alternatives to cloud-based software tools made by the likes of Microsoft.

Its billionaire co-founder, Sridhar Vembu is known for his popular and unconventional approach of locating business operations in rural villages.

Vembu confirmed the decision after the story was published, saying “we did not have that confidence in the tech,” in a social media post.

“Since this business is so capital intensive, it requires government backing, we wanted to be absolutely sure of the technology path before we take taxpayer money,” he said.

In a bid to diversify, Zoho had planned to invest $400 million in a semiconductor facility in Karnataka state in south India.

The entire chipmaking plan, first reported by newsmen in May 2024, has for now been suspended.

Representatives for Karnataka state did not respond to a request for comment.

Zoho’s retreat will be a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has for several years tried to lure companies in his pursuit to make India a global chip manufacturing hub.

India does not have a single operational chipmaking facility.

Zoho, established in 1996, offers software and related services on subscription to businesses in 150 countries and has over 18,000 employees and more than 120 million users.

Zoho’s Silectric Semiconductor Manufacturing last year made a handful of hires and formed a board to oversee chipmaking efforts, the source, who gave the reason for the failed plan, said.

The Karnataka government said in December it had given landmark approval to Zoho’s planned $400 million facility in Mysuru region, which would have generated 460 jobs and been the first such project in the state.

 

 

 

 


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FG Partners UK to Combat Cross-border Cyber-crime

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The federal government and the United Kingdom signed an agreement Tuesday to combat the growing threat of cyber-crime. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed following a courtesy visit by David George Hanson, minister of the home office, UK, to the Nigeria Police Force headquarters, Louis Edet House in Abuja.

Transnational crime is a big problem for both the UK and Nigeria, so the governments intend to strengthen existing collaboration efforts to crack down on cyber-criminals and protect their industries from unlawful activities.

Offences such as online fraud, identity theft, digital extortion, and ransomware , operate across many jurisdictions, and frequently necessitate sophisticated cooperation efforts, according to the two governments during a press conference.

Furthermore, Lateef Fagbemi, Nigeria’s attorney-general and minister of justice, established the Joint Case Team on Cybercrime, which aims to address the need for a coordinated and robust approach to combating cybercrime, as stated in the Cybercrimes Act of 2015, which criminalises cyber-related offences.

Hanson underlined the importance of ongoing cooperation efforts to combat international crime in a number of areas, affecting vulnerable individuals.

He said: “We need to look again at how we can build cooperation between the Federal Government, the federal police, and our police forces and National Crime Agency to take action against these international criminals, who are exploiting vulnerable people in a whole range of areas. The National Crime Agency, the Home Office Fraud Department, and the High Commission need to make sure we make a big impact on this transnational crime.”

“The collaboration between the Nigerian Police Force and National Crime Agency continues to serve as a model in international law enforcement cooperation. We have successfully conducted joint operations into many cases of cybercrimes and online fraud. With your [UK government] cooperation, we have continued to bust other criminal networks around the world,” added inspector-general of Nigerian Police Force, Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun.

 


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