E-Business
FG Inaugurates Steering Committee for Establishment of Digital Free Zones

In a bid to position Nigeria as a hub for global digital trade and innovation, the federal government has inaugurated a steering committee to oversee the initiative for the establishment of digital free zones in the country.
The committee, which is chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is saddled with the task of overseeing the establishment of these digital free zones designed to attract and support tech finance and service-oriented businesses, in a conducive environment tailored to the 21st-century digital trade and technological age.
A statement issued by Mohammed Manga, the Director, Information and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Finance, said the steering committee also includes the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun as Vice Chairman, as well as other key government officials.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN; the Ministers of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani; Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite; Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; and the heads of relevant government agencies are also members.
The Initiative for the Promotion of Digital Free Zones in Nigeria (DiFZIN) serves as the private-sector stakeholders’ representative and technical advisers on the committee. DiFZIN, a non-profit advocacy and policy research organisation, is supported by a consortium of private sector development-focused and advisory institutions, including Africa Finance Corporation, PwC Nigeria, Charter Cities Institute, Future Africa, and Itana.
The mission is to develop Nigeria’s free zones ecosystem into Africa’s primary hub for global technology, finance and service businesses.
The committee will collaborate with relevant government agencies and private stakeholders to update Nigeria’s free zone policies and 30-year-old regulatory framework, technology and processes to align with global standards.
This includes developing and publishing policy and operational frameworks to enable qualified global and local technology, finance and services-based businesses to establish Pan-African or global operations from Nigeria.
Businesses operating within the zones will benefit from modernised free zone regulations, including tax, banking, and immigration incentives, simplified government compliance processes, and a stable regulatory environment.
The strategic goals include boosting foreign direct investment, creating employment opportunities, and facilitating foreign exchange inflow through an innovative approach to the free zones ecosystem.
The establishment of Itana, Africa’s first digital free zone management company, registered and licensed by NEPZA, underscores the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for global technology, finance and services-based businesses.
The statement quoted the Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee, Mr. Wale Edun as saying: “The pivotal role of free zones in catalysing and sustaining economic growth in Nigeria cannot be overemphasized.
In this digital age, we must integrate technology-focused businesses to attract investments and showcase our domestic talents under a liberal regulatory framework.”
The government, he added, “aims to deliver these benefits through the digital free zones.”
In his remarks, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani noted: “As we embrace the concept of digital free zones in Nigeria, we are presented with a unique opportunity to drive local domiciliation of global technology companies to boost skills development and job creation in innovation and technology, and contribute to the local economy.
“An ecosystem tailored to fostering innovation, knowledge and skills development, and improved digital infrastructure is crucial for harnessing the potential of Nigeria’s digital economy.”
On his part, the MD/CEO of NEPZA, Dr. Olufemi Ogunyemi, assured that “NEPZA is committed to digital transformation through initiatives like the e-NEPZA platform, which will streamline government services and comply with the federal government’s ease of doing business policy. We look forward to partnering with DiFZIN to advance our digital processes.”
Also speaking, Mr. Luqman Edu, Executive Director of DiFZIN and CEO of Itana affirmed that “DiFZIN is committed to driving regulatory reforms in taxation, banking, immigration, and ease of doing business within the free zones ecosystem.”
According to him, “Our goal is to create a conducive environment for global technology, finance and services-based businesses, positioning Nigeria as a hub for Africa, akin to Delaware for the US and Dubai for Asia.”
Mr. Banji Fehintola, Executive Director and Head of Financial Services at AFC, informed that “AFC’s advisory team is skilled in providing tailored financial and technical advice across Africa. We look forward to collaborating with DiFZIN to modernise Nigeria’s free trade zones, attract investment, create jobs, and boost trade and commerce in Nigeria and Africa.”
The statement disclosed that Digital Free Zones will leverage cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Edge Computing, fostering an environment for innovation, job creation and economic expansion.
These ecosystems will support business growth and competitiveness through a supportive regulatory framework, facilitating the seamless integration of emerging technologies into business operations,” it added.
E-Business
Domain of Deception as Attackers Deploy Spyware Under Guise of Legal Threats

Kaspersky has detected a rapidly escalating malicious campaign that has targeted over 1,100 corporate users since June 2025. The attackers pose as a legal firm and in their emails threaten recipients with lawsuits over alleged domain name patent violations, aiming to deploy malware.
Victims who opened and launched the attached files – that mimicked legal documents – had a Trojan installed on their devices, and the attackers could spy on the content of their screens. Organisations across healthcare, finance, and education sectors have been targeted.
The campaign began with 95 emails on June 11 and has since continued to escalate. Apart from claiming that the recipient’s domain name violates patented combinations of a major brand and threatening litigation, in the email the fake legal bureau also expresses the patent holders’ interest in acquiring the domain and offers getting acquainted with the details of the alleged violations by opening the attached archive with “documents”.
It is worth noting that the attackers, likely to avoid detection, attach an archive that is not password protected, and inside it includes another archive that is password protected and a file containing the password along with it.
After the user entered the archive password and clicked on the alleged legal document inside, a Trojan was installed on the device. The user saw a message displayed that read, “This document cannot be opened on this device. Try opening it on another windows device,” and simultaneously the Tor Browser was covertly downloaded and installed in the background.
Through it, the malware regularly sent snapshots of the user’s screen to the attackers over the Tor network. The malware also autostarts whenever the computer is restarted.
“This campaign is a sophisticated blend of psychological manipulation and technical deception, leveraging fear of legal action to coerce businesses into executing harmful files hidden in attached archives. Its rapid growth since June 11 underscores the urgency for organisations to bolster defenses.
Victims face the risk of losing their private data. Robust email security, employee training, and swift incident reporting are essential to counter this evolving threat,” comments Anna Lazaricheva, spam analyst at Kaspersky.
E-Business
Global Crypto Heists Surge to $2.1Bn in H1 2025 as Digital Assets is Weaponised

In a sobering revelation of the evolving threat landscape facing the digital asset ecosystem, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has disclosed that over $2.1 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen in the first half of 2025 alone, spanning at least 75 high-profile hacks and exploits.
This staggering figure marks a 10 per cent surge over the previous first-half record set in 2022 and nearly eclipses the total stolen in all of 2024.
But beyond the monetary scale, the report reveals a deeper concern: a growing trend of state-sponsored cyber aggression weaponising crypto assets for strategic and geopolitical purposes.
The most devastating breach to date occurred in February when Dubai-based exchange Bybit lost $1.5 billion—the largest crypto heist in history.
TRM Labs attributes the attack to North Korean state actors, noting that the incident alone accounted for nearly 70 percent of total losses during the period and doubled the average hack size to $30 million.
“The Bybit hack redefined the threat landscape,” the report stated.
“It exemplifies how digital asset theft has transcended criminal opportunism and morphed into a tool of statecraft.”
Indeed, North Korea-linked entities were responsible for an estimated $1.6 billion of the total stolen, further entrenching Pyongyang’s status as the most prolific nation-state threat actor in the crypto sphere.
Yet the menace is diversifying. On June 18, Iranian crypto exchange Nobitex was breached for over $90 million by a group reportedly linked to Israel, Gonjeshke Darande (Predatory Sparrow).
Unusually, the stolen funds were routed to unusable vanity addresses, underscoring symbolic and political motives rather than financial gain.
TRM Labs flagged this as a “disturbing shift,” with digital asset theft increasingly deployed as a weapon in asymmetric geopolitical conflict.
The report also found that more than 80 percent of losses stemmed from infrastructure breaches, including private key theft, seed phrase leaks, and front-end compromises— attacks typically ten times costlier than other vectors.
Meanwhile, DeFi exploits such as flash loan manipulations accounted for 12 percent of losses, reflecting persistent smart contract vulnerabilities despite years of scrutiny.
As digital currencies become enmeshed in global rivalries, TRM Labs warns that conventional cybersecurity approaches are now inadequate.
“Massive breaches, often tied to nation-state operations, require a new defence paradigm,” the firm asserted, urging industrywide adoption of advanced safeguards and cross-border collaboration among regulators and law enforcement.
E-Business
CAC Launches AI-powered Business Registration Portal

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has inaugurated the pilot take-off of its new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered registration portal.
A statement issued by the commission explained that Malam Hussaini Magaji, registrar-general of the CAC, made the announcement during the 2025 Stakeholders Forum in Port Harcourt.
According to him, “the initiative is a major milestone in Nigeria’s business facilitation drive.”
The Registrar further explained that the upgraded portal marks a complete overhaul of the Company Registration Portal (CRP), saying that it comes with advanced features designed to simplify and speed up business registration.
The new system, according to him, allows for instant name reservation approvals, likening the ease to creating an email account, and stressing that the AI-powered platform could suggest available alternatives to business names and approve them immediately.
Another innovation, he stated, is the ability to register a business using only the National Identification Number (NIN) of a director or proprietor, pointing out that there is an ambitious target of completing business registration and certificate generation within 30 minutes, subject to real-time NIN validation.
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