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General News

GEJ vs GMB: Winner is… The Cable’s Verdict

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General Muhammadu Buhari, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan:
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Predicting the outcome of an election has never been this difficult.  The reason, according to The Cable is not too complex though: this is the first time since 1999 that the opposition party has gathered enormous momentum going into an election.

What’s more: there seems to be a blossoming coalition between Muhammadu Buhari and the south.

All you need do is look at the crowds and supporters at his rallies in the south, compared to the years gone by.

However, no one dare rules out an incumbent president in a developing country, so President Goodluck Jonathan should not be considered down and out.

The Cable said that but he has had a lot of negative publicity in his first term — which puts him at a disadvantage, at least with many people.

The election is a referendum on his government, not on Buhari’s regime of three decades ago. There are good reasons for Buhari to be hopeful that he would win.

And there are good reasons for Jonathan to believe that he too would win. We try to highlight each candidate’s hopes.

The Cable taps Buhari to win based on five factors:
Bigger Base

In 2003, 2007 and 2011, Buhari was essentially a northern candidate with little support in the south. But he was clearly the darling of the “core north” and not the middle belt.
Either as candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) or the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Buhari never had any impact in the south and most of the middle belt.
Today, as candidate of the bigger All Progressives Congress (APC) — which has swallowed ANPP and CPC, in addition to the south-west party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) — Buhari has a bigger and broader base.
He never won 25% in any southern state before; this time, expect him to hit that threshold in all southern states, except perhaps Bayelsa.

Bigger Purse
The formation of APC has not only given Buhari a bigger national platform, his war chest is now heavier.
In the past, his finances were highly limited. He could not afford all the necessary logistics, such as buying enough campaign vehicles and maintaining them. He could not afford expensive media advertising.
His supporters often taxed themselves to make expenses on his behalf. In 2015, the story has changed.
Buhari is all over the newspapers, radio, TV and the Internet. He has a deep pocket courtesy of the support of governors such as Rotimi Amaechi and Aliyu Wamakko as well as wealthy Nigerians like Bola Tinubu and former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar.
Buhari, from struggling to fuel his campaign vehicles long ago, now uses chartered flights.

Bigger Youth Support
Buhari was never the darling of the educated youth population until now. In 2011, Jonathan monopolised the market with his hold on the social media, where the youth are the most active.
Buhari never had a Facebook page or Twitter handle. However, since he won the presidential ticket of his party in December, the story has changed completely. Youths who used to criticise Jonathan regularly on the social media simply moved to Buhari’s camp and, at some stage, drowned out pro-Jonathan voices.
They have also been creative and proactive, criticising every move of Jonathan swiftly and generating a lot of viral messages against the president.

Better Image
Buhari used to be seen as a religious fundamentalist who was bent on Islamising Nigeria. He had also been credited with a couple of statements that seemed to paint him in that light.
Long ago, he reportedly said Muslims should only vote for Muslims — a statement he denied. Last year, he was quoted as blaming Jonathan for the war against Boko Haram, reportedly saying a northerner gave Niger Delta militants but a southerner was instead killing northerners.
All these reports painted him as a northern and Islamic champion. These impressions have since vanished, starting possibly from the moment he was attacked in Kaduna last year by suspected Boko Haram militants.

Critical Issues
For once, the electioneering relegated sectional issues substantially to the background. Gone are the days of “it is our turn” or “Nigeria will be ungovernable if we don’t have it”.
Jonathan, as the sitting president, has been confronted with issues of insecurity and corruption which his opponents have highlighted very well.
Indeed, the message resonates well with many Nigerians who, despite opposing Buhari in the past, are now saying they would rather have him than four more years of Jonathan.
Issues such as the kidnap of Chibok schoolgirls, the alleged $20 billion missing oil money, poor power supply and the menace of Boko Haram are uppermost on their minds. In a sense, the “change” campaign is more of an anti-Jonathan sentiment.

NO, IT’S JONATHAN FOR SURE…
Incumbency Factor
In African politics, or the politics of underdeveloped countries for that matter, incumbents are hard to unseat.
Incumbents have been defeated in some nearby countries — such as Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal — but these deviations are not the rule.
In Nigeria’s history, incumbents have always returned: Tafawa Balewa (1960 and 1964, as prime minister), Shehu Shagari (1979 and 1983) and Olusegun Obasanjo (1999 and 2003).
Their returns were always controversial. So either steal, beg or borrow, Jonathan may use the advantage of incumbency to return to power.
The postponement of the election, for instance, is seen as a demonstration of incumbency power and it is believed that it has allowed Jonathan to re-strategise for victory.

The Nicodemus Factor
Although Buhari is dominating the airwaves, it could well be that those who are working for Jonathan are afraid of being “mobbed” and have decided to support him Nicodemusly (that means “secretly”, in case you are not familiar with the Bible story).
In some parts of the country, those known to be supporting Jonathan have been attacked in the past.
People lost their lives and property in 2011 for supporting Jonathan. There are various reports, mostly unconfirmed, that the northern elite are not well disposed to Buhari because of fear of vengeance.
Some traditional rulers are also thought to be apprehensive about a scarcity of goodies under an anti-corruption icon like Buhari.

Southern/Middle Belt emotion
Although Buhari now has a larger and broader base, there are those who will not vote for him simply because they think the north has a “born to rule” mentality.
No matter their misgivings with a Jonathan government, they will be happy not to have another northerner as president “so soon”.
Some southerners still refer to the past when the north ruled Nigeria from 1960 to 1999, minus the four combined years of Obasanjo and Ernest Shonekan.
This sentiment is still strong in some areas in the south, where some socio-cultural groups and elders are still talking about the “northern oligarchy”. The minorities in the north, meanwhile, seem to identify with the south in this aspect.

Stomach Infrastructure
There is a language that is often spoken among Nigerians voters: stomach infrastructure. A bag of rice, a bottle of vegetable oil, a bundle of clothing or a few wads of naira could win their votes.
It is a common factor in places where they do not have any serious interest in the candidates. When it comes to stomach infrastructure, then, Jonathan has a bigger storehouse than Buhari.
Although Buhari has a deeper pocket this time around, his funders also have other battles they are waging.
For instance, Tinubu and Amaechi are battling to install their governorship candidates, making the presidential election a bit of a distraction.
More so, the postponement of the election appears to have depleted opposition’s resources, while PDP’s pocket seems bottomless.

South-west? Which south-west?
Buhari’s hope of unseating Jonathan seems to rest so much on the belief that the APC is in control of the south-west.
Having scored 10 million votes less than Jonathan in 2011, the Buhari camp seemed to have finally accepted the fact that he needs southern votes to become president.
Since 2003. he had consistently won 12 million votes in the north without much presence in the south.
Nevertheless, the south-west may not be there for the taking in 2015. Out of the six states, Ondo and Ekiti are controlled by PDP governors.
Then Oyo and Ogun are very shaky for APC, with the ascendancy of pro-Jonathan politicians in those states and the fracturing of the opposition’s structure.
Meanwhile, Lagos and Osun should be seriously contested from all indications.


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Cybervergent Selected as World Economic Forum’s 2025 Technology Pioneer Company

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In affirmation of its global standing, Cybervergent, a Pan-African technology company that leverages artificial intelligence to transform how organisations manage risk, governance, privacy, and cybersecurity, has been selected as one of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Technology Pioneers for 2025—a global cohort spotlighting companies transforming industries through breakthrough technologies and responsible innovation.

The WEF, an international organisation committed to improving the state of the world through public-private collaboration, brings together global leaders to shape economic, technological, and societal agendas. Cybervergent now joins this global community.

The company is recognized for its innovative approach to building digital trust, reimagining how organisations manage cybersecurity, risk, privacy and governance.

Commenting on the company’s milestone, Adetokunbo Omotosho, CEO of Cybervergent, said, “I am honoured that Cybervergent has been named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. This is more than an accolade — it’s a validation of our commitment to redefining cybersecurity, privacy, and risk management to build true digital trust.

“What makes this recognition even more meaningful is the fact that Cybervergent demonstrates innovation in AI and infrastructure can emerge from any region, challenging conventional perceptions.”

Some past recipients of the Technology Pioneer recognition, including Google, Spotify, and Airbnb have gone on to fundamentally reshape global industries.

As a member of the 2025 Technology Pioneers community, Cybervergent will be contributing to discussions shaping cybersecurity, AI, and cyber resilience across industries and the global digital economy.


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Moove Plans to Raise $1.2Bn Debt Round for US Autonomous Vehicle Expansion

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Moove, an African mobility fintech startup, is on a quest to secure a $1.2 billion debt financing round to support the rollout of a fleet of autonomous vehicles.

This is in partnership with Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo in the United States, according to a Bloomberg report citing sources familiar with the matter.

The startup has since attracted backing, including from Uber Technologies Inc., and entered a strategic partnership with Waymo in December 2024 to provide financing for self-driving cars.

Ladi Delano, co-founder of Moove, noted that the company has a solid financial track record.

“Moove has built strong relationships with some of the world’s leading lenders. We have also fully repaid our first-ever debt facilities, which signals our maturity and marks a key milestone that demonstrates the strength of our platform as we enter the next phase of global autonomous-vehicle infrastructure deployment,” he said.

The round is reportedly oversubscribed, with strong participation from private credit firms and banks.

Waymo has also not made any official statement regarding the funding round. While final details are expected to be concluded in the coming weeks, the deal will mark a significant milestone for the firm as it ramps up its global ambitions.

Founded in 2020 by Nigerian entrepreneurs, Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove began by providing vehicle financing for ride-hailing drivers in Africa’s largest cities.

 


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Firm Explores the Evolution of AI-powered Ransomware with Password-gated Capabilities

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Kaspersky experts have revealed the inner workings of FunkSec — a ransomware group that illustrates the future of mass cybercrime: AI-powered, multifunctional, highly adaptive and operating on volume with ransoms as low as $10,000 to maximise profits.

Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) constantly monitors the ransomware threat landscape, where attacks continue to rise. According to the company’s latest State of Ransomware report, the share of users affected by ransomware attacks worldwide increased to 0.44% from 2023 to 2024, up by 0.02 percentage points.

While this percentage may appear modest compared to other cyber threats, it reflects the fact that attackers typically prioritise high-value targets rather than mass distribution, making each incident potentially devastating. Within this evolving landscape, FunkSec has emerged as a particularly concerning threat.

Active for less than a year since its emergence in late 2024, FunkSec has quickly surpassed many established actors by targeting government, technology, finance and education sectors. What sets FunkSec apart is its sophisticated technical architecture and AI-assisted development.

The group packages full-scale encryption and aggressive data exfiltration into a single Rust-based executable, capable of disabling over 50 processes on victim machines and equipped with self-cleanup features to evade defenses.

Beyond its core ransomware functionality, FunkSec has expanded its toolkit to include a password generator and a basic DDoS tool — both showing clear signs of code synthesis using large language models (LLMs).

FunkSec’s approach reflects the evolving landscape of mass cybercrime, combining advanced tools and tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT experts highlight the key features that define their operations:

Password-Controlled functionality

GReAT experts discovered that FunkSec ransomware features a unique password-based mechanism that controls its operation modes. Without a password, the malware performs basic file encryption, while providing a password activates a more aggressive data exfiltration process in addition to encryption to steal sensitive data.

FunkSec packs full-scale encryption, local exfiltration and self-cleanup into a single Rust binary—without a side-loader or a companion script. That level of consolidation is uncommon and gives affiliates a plug-and-play tool they can deploy almost anywhere.

Use of AI in development

Code analysis shows that FunkSec is actively using generative artificial intelligence to create its tools. Many parts of the code seem to be automatically generated rather than manually written. Signs of this generic placeholder comments (such as “placeholder for actual check”) and technical inconsistencies, like commands for different operating systems that don’t align properly. Additionally, the presence of declared but unused functions—such as modules included upfront but never utilised — reflects how large language models combine multiple code snippets without pruning redundant elements.

“More and more, we see cybercriminals leveraging AI to develop malicious tools. Generative AI lowers barriers and accelerates malware creation, enabling cybercriminals to adapt their tactics faster.

By reducing the entry threshold, AI allows even less experienced attackers to quickly develop sophisticated malware at scale,” comments Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky’s GReAT.

High-volume, low-ransom strategy

FunkSec demands unusually low ransom payments, sometimes as little as $10,000, and pairs this with the sale of stolen data at discounted prices to third parties. This strategy appears designed to enable a high volume of attacks, helping the group quickly establish its reputation within the cybercriminal underground. Unlike traditional ransomware groups that seek million-dollar ransoms, FunkSec employs a high-frequency, low-cost model — further underscoring its use of AI to streamline and scale operations.

Expands beyond ransomware

FunkSec has expanded its capabilities beyond the ransomware binary. Its dark leak site (DLS) hosts additional tools, including a Python-based password generator designed to support brute-force and password-spraying attacks, as well as a basic DDoS tool.

Advanced evasion

FunkSec employs advanced evasion techniques to avoid detection and complicate forensic analysis. The ransomware is capable of stopping over 50 processes and services to ensure thorough encryption of targeted files. Additionally, it includes a fallback mechanism to execute certain commands even if the user launching FunkSec lacks sufficient privileges.

 


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