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E-Business

Angst Over $2m Spent by Banks on None Core Banking Software

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Indigenous software stakeholders have decried a trend in the country’s financial sector software consumption where banks spend as much as $2million to implement foreign none core banking software.

Angst Over $2m Spent by Banks on None Core Banking Software

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations have revealed that a bank in the country spent $2million to implement foreign software that is not its core banking application for a module.

Dr.Yele Okeremi, president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) in his response, said that if you look at 20 banks implementing at $2Million that is $40million for just one module. “The question is if we put $20million on the table which is half of the amount are we saying we cannot get two to three Nigerian firms to create alternatives to this software.

“If we leave our financial system in the hands of foreigners it opens us up as a government to crisis. Meaning that our financial system can be shut-down from overseas, that is the easiest way to topple a government. If anybody wants to topple any government, just shut-down the payment systems, if money cannot move from one person to another then you see that Nigerians can be very angry and if you are leaving this in the hands of foreigners it means we do not have national security.

“What smart countries are doing is to ensure that anything that is critical to their national security is domesticated.

When you look at our economy, a lot of thing is going on in oil and gas. How much have we domesticated and that is why the wealth of the nation is not in the hands of Nigerians. It is even bad for them to even have access, now we are giving them free control. These are issues that threaten national security but we don’t understand it.

“I’m not against importing software but, it is not right to import anything on a long term basis if you can do it competitively by yourself. Even when you import software it should be with the view to developing capability to domesticate it.

He added that: “it is not going to be possible to say people should not sale foreign software except if they can prove the country doesn’t need foreign software, which is impossible to prove just as long as people can prove that Nigeria has a need for it and Nigeria doesn’t have a solution at the moment then there is room for people to sale foreign software and anybody as far as I’m concerned that derives value using software is a member of ISPON.

However, the issue about local software should not be seen as ISPON challenge rather it should be seen as national challenge if the national leadership is smart. The idea we are discussing here are even issues of national security and sovereignty.

However, let us analysis whether some of the things we have or even the ones that we are importing are things we are capable of creating for ourselves in a comparative competitive manner, if we can find comparative advantage, meaning why should we be paying millions of dollars?

Bimbo Abioye, group managing director, FinTrak Software, said: “As developers of application in Nigeria, the challenge that we have is absence of regulation, despite coming up with products that are even better and have been successfully deployed where foreign options have failed still for whatever reasons operators would opt for foreign software.

“Even for mere travelling abroad for training, it is as small as that. For technical training which allows them to go shopping and collect estacode both in the private and public sectors.

“Where under heavens foreign solutions are to be acquired, technical training must happen in Nigeria. Because our hearts bleed when we see what happens and at eNigeria 2017 I made one comment, that Nigeria ranks among the poorest nations on earth despite the abundant resources and one index that was given to us is that Nigeria is also ranking first among the most foolish nations on earth.

“Because it is difficult to expect that when you spend $1billion every year enriching foreign nations, providing employment overseas, why won’t your youths be unemployed and they are finding job in Kidnapping and other crimes and nobody is immune from that.

“Where ever foreign software will be bought for whatever reason there should be software import tax which should be punitive as high as 35 per cent. When I go to Ghana they tax my software 33 per cent. We can use this fund to develop the ecosystem and provide single digit loan for software companies in Nigeria.


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E-Business

Gov. Mbah Tasks Youths to Embrace Technology as Enugu Tech Festival Opens

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The 2025 Enugu Tech Festival being organised by the Enugu State Government kicked off yesterday with the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, describing it as the biggest technology conference that has ever happened in Nigeria.

Tijani said the Tech Festival, which attracted thousands of youths from within and outside the state, was a major leap for Nigeria’s determination to build a robust digital economy, noting that Enugu State under Governor Peter Mbah, had moved from policy to progress to lead the tech revolution in Nigeria.

This was even as Governor Peter Mbah urged the youths to embrace technology, insisting that the future is technology.

Speaking, the Minister said that the Tech Festival, tagged Coal to Code, fitted into the agenda and activities of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, having recognised that the future of digital economy in Nigeria would not only be built in Abuja, but would instead be co-created across all states.

“Enugu is showing how this should and will be done. I have never, never been to a conference on technology in Nigeria that is this big. I founded the first technology hub in Nigeria, the very first in Nigeria. So, I know a thing or two when technology people gather. I can assure you that today, you are part of history because we have never seen anything this big in Nigeria before.

“There is something powerful about your state: the energy, the ambition, the possibilities. Just two years ago, only a few people could imagine this kind of tech momentum. But today, Enugu has not just imagined, Enugu is building it. Under two years, we have seen investment in digital infrastructure, and the innovation ecosystem of the state.

“What is happening today in Enugu is part of something bigger. We are now witnessing a generational rise, not one where people complain and protest, but one where creativity is used to shape the future. Not just with passion, but with precision,” he stated.

While commending the participants for rising to “create the kind of Nigeria the world will pay attention to,” Tijani called for collaboration, commitment, and hard work by all stakeholders to make it happen.

“Progress is not automatic, but needs all of us. It needs the government to continue to be brave. It needs the private sector to invest deeper. It needs mentors, builders, teachers, and it needs leaders,” he concluded.

Speaking, Governor Mbah, while highlighting how his administration had invested in technology to dramatically revolutionise security, land administration, education, among others, noted that the Enugu Tech Festival was part of his government’s wider efforts to build the youth of the state into wealth creators and highly sought-after workforce of tomorrow’s workplace.

“The power of technology and innovation and what we can accomplish is something that I want the youths to be mindful of. If you look at the way things are being done in the world today, we are now talking about an era where people just sit down with great ideas, create platforms where they begin to essentially benefit from that platform.

“An example is the Uber that came and disrupted the city taxi without owning a key. Today, they provide by far the largest traffic just by creating a platform. You can extend that to Airbnb.

Without owning a key, these guys have disrupted the business of those who own several brick and mortar houses. You can also extend that to Tesla. That is the power of technology. This shows essentially that technology is where the future is,” he emphasised.

In his remark, the Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Lawrence Ezeh, said the Enugu Tech Festival, which would now become an annual event, underscored a paradigm shift from the old Enugu known for coal to one that has become a rising force in Nigeria’s tech-driven future, a beacon of innovation, intellectual capital, digital enterprise, and endless possibilities.

“For decades, our identity was built on coal, a resource that powered Nigeria’s industrial rise. But today, we stand in a different kind of power—the power of knowledge, innovation, and technology,” he stated.

Also at the event were the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande; Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu; former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Barth Nnaji; Chairman of Zinox Technical, Leo Stan Ejeh; and the Group Managing Director, Afrinvest, Dr. Ike Chioke, among a host of others.

 


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Firm Finds Leaked Netflix, Roblox and Discord Accounts Registered on Corporate emails

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Employees may also use corporate emails to register for personal accounts on marketplaces and social media, increasing the risk of account theft and corporate security breaches, according to a study by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

Kaspersky shares these findings and suggests key cybersecurity practices to mitigate the risks of credential leaks.

Kaspersky experts analysed compromised credentials leaked on the dark web between 2019 and 2024 for three popular entertainment platforms: Roblox, Discord and Netflix. The analysis revealed that, on average, 7% of users whose accounts were leaked had registered on these platforms using a corporate email address.

“Registering on various services for personal use with a work email is not best practice. First, you may lose access to these accounts if you change jobs. Second, it can pose security risks for both you and your company.

“If your passwords follow a predictable pattern across different services – for example, ‘Word2025!’, where ‘2025’ is a recurring part – it increases the likelihood of other accounts being compromised, including your work account, should your corporate email be exposed in a dark web leak,” explains Sergey Shcherbel, expert at Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

Kaspersky experts also found that bank employees most commonly registered their work email addresses on streaming services, marketplaces and social networks. In a few cases, corporate emails were also used as logins on gaming platforms and adult content websites.

Corporate email usage on entertainment platforms: statistics from a sample of 50 banking sector companies.

To conduct this study, experts compiled a sample of 50 banking sector companies and examined compromised credentials leaked on the dark web, identifying those linked to the corporate domains of these companies across five categories of popular platforms.

Learn more in the report. In light of this growing infostealer threat, Kaspersky has launched a dedicated landing page to raise awareness of the issue and provide strategies for mitigating associated risks.

If you encounter a data leak through infostealers, the following steps should be taken immediately:

  • Change compromised account passwords and monitor for suspicious activity associated with those accounts.
  • Run full security scans on all devices, removing any detected malware.
  • Companies are recommended to monitor dark web markets proactively to detect compromised accounts before they pose risks to customers or employees. A detailed guide on setting up monitoring can be found here. Leverage Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence to track what cybercriminals know about your company’s assets, identify potential attack vectors, and implement protective measures in a timely manner.
  • As an enterprise, implement a security awareness program for employees, including regular training and performance assessments. Enforce a strict password policy for all corporate resources to reduce the risks of encountering credential-related cyber threats.

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NDPC, Mastercard Partner to Strengthen Data Protection

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Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC and Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard
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Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mastercard to enhance data protection in Nigeria.

Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC and Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard

The agreement was sealed during a workshop where 150 Data Protection Officers (DPOs) were trained on Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).

Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC, said the event kicks off activities for the 8th NADPA conference, highlighting government efforts to train more certified DPOs.

Olatunji also disclosed the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing the number of certified DPOs with the required skills to manage data protection.

He noted that Nigeria’s digital-savvy youth are key to driving this agenda.

“Human capital is really key to us, and the ecosystem we are regulating is very special. It is still new, still emerging, and we need all we can to build the capacity of officers.

“We want to build the capacity of our people so we can be able to deliver on our mandate and fully deepen privacy in Nigeria.

“We are targeting to build the capacity of 250,000 DPOs annually, and we are working with partners like Mastercard to achieve that,” he said.

Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard,  also stressed the need for collaboration to build trust in the digital economy and urged participants to embrace training as data protection keeps evolving.

 

 


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