Connect with us

E-Business

‘Ask the Lawyer App’ Voted Best At DevCon Alpha 2014 Grand Finale

Published

on

Microsoft Nigeria, Verve, Mobile Monday Nigeria and Nokia officials at the competition’s grand finale held in Lagos.
Kindly share this post

 

‘Ask The Lawyer’ application developed by a team led by Oladipo Olasemo went home yesterday night with assurance of $300,000 market support by Nokia and a N750,000 cheque after being voted the best at the conclusion of five month long DevCon Alpha competition.
 
The application was voted by guests and panelists ahead of other nine apps shortlisted for the final.

Microsoft Nigeria in collaboration with Mobile Monday Nigeria (MOMO), Nokia and Verve had in January 2014 commenced the competition to create apps on the Windows platform with the launch of the first DevCon Alpha competition.

The contest that brought together app developers and designers (called Devigners) to create locally relevant, visually appealing and commercially viable apps developed on either Windows 8 Mobile or Windows Phone platforms achieved its aims, according to Tomi Harry Davies (TD), executive director of Mobile Monday Nigeria (MoMo).

Existing apps from Devigners and retailers that meet the eligibility criteria and available were showcased at the closing event, others from local Devigners that meet the contests assessment criteria and are registered in the Windows App Store, and proof of concept demos from Devigners who have conceptual models of applications that can meet the DevCon criteria were also presented.

Oyeshina Oyetosho, developer and evangelism lead, Microsoft Nigeria, explained that Microsoft’s partnership with Mobile Monday Nigeria is a result of the company’s 4Afrika initiative aimed at providing Africans with world class skills, access and innovation.

“We decided to participate in the project because we noticed there is a gap in the technology ecosystem. It is mainly to create a platform to close the gap. We are giving trainings, offering free access in as many ways as we can to enable developers create applications that are usable, scalable, visually appealing, locally relevant and more importantly, challenge them to monetise their creativity which we trust will make them employers of labour. This way, they can contribute their quota to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

Explaining the rationale for the project, Chairman, Mobile Money Nigeria, TD, said, “Our vision is to see Nigeria become a key player in the technology space and what better way to achieve this than by getting our youth to create apps on the Windows platform that will compete with those of their foreign counterparts. With DevCon Alpha, we have seen that we can begin the development of a new generation of Nigerians that will challenge the domination of foreign players in the Nigerian software market.”

On her part, Oremeyi Akah, country manager, Verve International, said, the partner-companies were motivated by the enthusiasm exhibited by the developers, hinting that the market support value derivable from the competition remains the biggest achievement of the winners. 

“We want to support CBN to push the cashless policy as well as offer commercial support to those developers with fantastic ideas to enable them compete internationally while solving local demands”.

Emmanuel Oluwatosin, developer experience lead at Nokia West Africa, explained that the competition was expected to run for four weeks, however, more time was given to enable the developers have focus more on the apps.

Second runners-up were ‘Cinema’ and ‘Skills Development Platform’ (SDP) with N375,000 each, while Save A Life came third winning N350,000.

 

 


Kindly share this post

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

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending