E-Business
Data Breaches in Nigeria Increased by 64% in Q1’2023 – Study

The latest study by cybersecurity company Surfshark ranks Nigeria as the 32nd most breached country from January to March 2023 (Q1’2023). Globally, a total of 41.6M accounts were breached in Q1’2023, with Russia ranking first and amounting to a sixth of all breaches from January through March.
The United States takes second place, while Taiwan appears in third place after extreme quarter-over-quarter growth, followed by France and Spain. A 49% decrease in breached users worldwide is seen compared to Q4’2022.
Surfshark’s analysis of data breaches in Q1’2023 shows Nigeria is in 32nd place with 82k leaked accounts (previously 41st with around 50k in Q4’2022). The breach rate is 46% higher in 2023’Q1 than it was in 2022’Q4.
Global data from Surfshark’s data breach statistics update (Q1’2023) records 41.6M leaked accounts, with Russia being 1st in the world (6.6M), followed by the U.S. (5M), Taiwan (3.9M), France (3.2M), and Spain (3.2M). Taiwan saw the highest quarter-over-quarter increase (21x), placing its total of 4M leaked accounts 3rd in Q1’2023. The country had only placed 26th in Q4’2022’ with 191K breached users. Globally, data breaches declined, dropping to one user account leaked every second in Q1’2023.
“According to Surfshark’s study, data breaches declined globally in the first quarter of 2023 if we compare it to the previous one,” says Agneska Sablovskaja, Lead Researcher at Surfshark. “However, the fact that over 40 million accounts were breached in just a few months is still a cause for concern.
“Those whose data was compromised are at an increased risk of being targeted by cybercriminals as their personal information can be utilized for phishing attacks, fraud, identity theft, and other serious cybercrimes.”
Europe was the most affected region by breaches in Q1’2023, followed by Asia and North America
In Q1’2023, Europe was also the only region with a significant quarter-over-quarter increase in its statistics on data breaches. The number nearly doubled, growing from 9.9M in Q4’2022 to 17.5M in Q1’2023. To put this into perspective, 2 out of 5 accounts breached in Q1’2023 were of European origin, with 38% of these being Russian. Within the region, the biggest quarter-over-quarter spikes in data breaches were recorded in Czechia (almost 9x), Armenia (around 6x), and Switzerland (6x).
Asia was the second-most vulnerable region, accounting for around a fourth of the quarter’s breaches (10.6M). The three countries that saw the highest quarter-over-quarter increase overall were all Asian — Taiwan and Saudi Arabia both had around 20 times more leaked accounts in Q1’2023 than in Q4’2022, while South Korea saw its number increase 12 times.
An additional 13% of the accounts were North American (5.3M). All other regions comprised less than 5% of the quarter’s total. Out of all regions, Africa saw the greatest quarter-over-quarter decrease — a whopping 33 times, bringing its total of 18.6M leaked accounts in Q4’2022 down to 557.6K in Q1’2023.
Some of the biggest breaches by email count were Sberbank (Russia), with 2.9M accounts leaked, Weee! (United States) with 1.1M, and Zurich Insurance (Switzerland) with 756.7K.
The ten most breached countries of Q1’2023, in descending order, are Russia, the U.S., Taiwan, France, Spain, India, Czechia, South Korea, and Italy. The highest growth in user victims was spotted in Taiwan (21x), Saudi Arabia (19x), South Korea (12x), Czechia (9x), and Armenia (7x).
Methodology
The data was collected by our independent partners from 29,000 publicly available databases and aggregated by email address. To determine the location of the email address, our partners’ mechanism looked into several associated parameters, such as domain names, IP addresses, locales, coordinates, currency or phone numbers. This data was then anonymized and passed on to Surfshark’s researchers to perform a statistical analysis of their findings.
The Data Breach World Map is updated every month with the most recent data from our independent partners. At the time of this particular study, the data analyzed was from April 1st, 2023. The numbers from October to December 2022 were compared with data aggregated from January to March 2023. Countries with a population of less than 1M people are not included in the analysis.
E-Business
NITDA Ignites a Revolution for Gender Inclusion in Nigeria’s AI and Digital Economy

In a powerful stride towards an inclusive digital future, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is spearheading a transformative drive to empower Nigerian women in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital economy.
This commitment was resoundingly reiterated by NITDA’s Director General, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, at the “Innovate Her 25” conference, the 10th National Conference and 11th Annual Meeting of Nigerian Women in Information Technology.
Speaking at the event themed “Women in AI: Unlocking Resilience, Fostering Innovation and Leadership,” Inuwa, represented by Dr. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Stakeholder Management and Partnerships, emphasised that true innovation blossoms not in isolation, but through synergistic partnerships and collective endeavor – principles deeply embedded in NITDA’s operational ethos.
Highlighting Nigeria’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy, Inuwa added that inclusivity is embedded as a core objective: “Our strategic roadmap mandates that at least 40% of our programmes directly benefit women and underserved groups. We have also developed a Gender Inclusion Strategy to guide interventions in areas such as training and infrastructure,” he explained.
Further underscoring Nigeria’s leadership in the digital space, Inuwa excitingly announced that in September 2025, NITDA will proudly host a Leadership Summit on AI. This landmark event will convene stakeholders from across the African continent, fostering a collaborative environment to forge a unified AI vision for Africa.
In alignment with the conference’s focus on empowering women in technology, the DG detailed NITDA’s diverse capacity-building initiatives spanning AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. “We work with partners such as the Renew Hope Initiative to train thousands of women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones,” he revealed, highlighting the agency’s broad reach.
NITDA stands ready to collaborate with organisations like the Nigerian Women in Information Technology (NIWIT), actively encouraging proposals for bespoke programmes that cater to specific community needs. “We focus on targeted training with measurable outcomes, rather than generic approaches,” Inuwa affirmed, emphasising a results-oriented methodology.
He further spotlighted NITDA’s “Digital Literacy for All Initiative,” which seeks to equip 70% of Nigerians with digital literacy by 2027. Through strategic partnerships with the NYSC and the integration of digital literacy into national school curricula, the agency plans to train over 30 million Nigerians — with a dedicated focus on underserved communities and public servants.
Addressing critical concerns surrounding ethical AI, Inuwa emphasised the importance of developing indigenous datasets and large language models reflective of Nigeria’s unique realities: “We are working closely with stakeholders to build local datasets that safeguard Nigerians’ digital rights and ensure ethical AI use,” he assured.
NITDA is also championing mentorship for women in technology through impactful initiatives such as Women Innovate. The agency warmly welcomes collaboration with NIWIT to design structured mentorship programmes and is open to formalising such partnerships through Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs).
“NITDA is committed to fostering inclusive economic growth through innovation. Partnership and collaboration remain the way forward,” Inuwa declared.
The session concluded with a resounding call to action, urging women-focused organisations to leverage NITDA’s open-door policy and unite in advancing digital inclusion across Nigeria. The future of Nigeria’s digital economy is inclusive, and women are at its forefront.
E-Business
Amazon CEO Says AI will Reduce Number of Workers Needed

Amazon’s management on Wednesday said that it expects that artificial intelligence software will reduce the number of office workers at the world’s largest online retailer.

Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon
“We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today and more people doing other types of jobs,” Andy Jassy, chief executive, Amazon wrote in an email to employees.
He said it was difficult to predict how the overall workforce will evolve, but in the next few years, it is expected that AI efficiency gains will lead to a reduction in the number of office workers.
According to earlier reports, Amazon employed around 1.5 million people worldwide, with approximately 350,000 office employees in various roles.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the company does not anticipate further large-scale layoffs, as seen in 2022 and 2023, in the near future.
Instead, it expects that vacant positions will not be refilled.
However, layoffs are not ruled out, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“Amazon is focusing on so-called AI agents, software capable of independently performing tasks. These agents could, for example, summarise information from the web and data sources, write software, translate languages and automate many time-consuming tasks,” Mr Jassy explained.
“Agents will be teammates that we can call on at various stages of our work,” he added, urging employees to experiment with AI whenever possible.
The impact of AI on the job market has been a concern for many years.
Recently, Spotify, the leader in music streaming, announced that teams requesting additional staff would first need to prove that AI could not perform the tasks.
The creators of the language-learning app Duolingo plan to gradually replace external workers with AI.
E-Business
BPP Partners NDPC to Strengthen Data Protection

Dr Adebowale Adedokun, director-general, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), has reaffirmed the bureau’s commitment to data protection in Nigeria.
He disclosed this in a statement at the weekend by Zira Nagga, head of Public Relations, BPP, following a courtesy visit by a delegation from the National Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Adedokun stressed that data protection is vital to Nigeria’s economy and development, particularly in areas such as demography, health, education, and other key sectors.
He emphasised that no country should leave its data unprotected, as it plays a crucial role in future planning and national development.
“Data governs the world. It is essential to technological progress and must be protected for a country or business to be taken seriously,” he said.
Adedokun described the visit, aimed at fostering partnership on data policy implementation and protection, as timely and aligned with national goals.
He said the BPP would collaborate closely with the NDPC to boost data development, capacity building, and enhance the procurement system.
“The BPP will support compliance as part of the ‘Nigeria First’ Policy, although it is not a core procurement eligibility requirement,” he explained.
He suggested a hybrid training model to help build strong capacity in data protection, privacy awareness, and policy understanding.
According to him, a dynamic training approach will reduce logistics costs and improve public confidence in data safety and privacy.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, CEO, and national commissioner, NDPC, praised Adedokun and the BPP for supporting data protection initiatives.
He said the partnership supports President Bola Tinubu’s vision and will strengthen data privacy across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
“The collaboration will create awareness and train BPP staff to ensure a firm grasp of data protection principles and policies,” he stated.
Olatunji said the NDPC would establish a working group to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding beneficial to both institutions.
He added that President Tinubu signed the NDPC into law on 12 June 2023 to uphold citizens’ rights and protect national and business data.
Olatunji also noted that strict legal measures were in place to enforce data protection and ensure full compliance nationwide.
Both agencies agreed to form a team to sign the MoU and focus on capacity building and data management in procurement and beyond.
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