E-Financial
Hackers Demand $70m after Kaseya Ransomware Attack
Hackers were on Monday demanding $70 million in bitcoin in exchange for data stolen during a “gargantuan” attack on a US IT company that has shuttered hundreds of Swedish supermarkets.
AFP reported that researchers believe more than 1,000 companies could have been affected by the attack on Miami-based firm Kaseya, which provides IT services to some 40,000 businesses around the world.
The FBI warned Sunday that the scale of the “ransomware” attack — a form of digital hostage-taking where hackers encrypt victims’ data and then demand money for restored access — is so large that it may be “unable to respond to each victim individually”.
“It’s probably the biggest ransomware attack of all time,” said Ciaran Martin, cybersecurity professor at the University of Oxford.
“Because of the nature of the attack there’s still a lot of uncertainty over its impact,” he stressed.
But he added that because this was a “supply chain attack” — targeting a company serving thousands of firms, many of whom in turn provide IT support to smaller businesses such as car dealerships — the total number of victims was potentially huge.
Sweden’s Coop supermarket chain was among the indirect victims, with its cash registers paralysed since Friday when its IT subcontractor Visma Esscom was hit by the attack.
Most of Coop’s 800 stores were still closed Monday, spokesman Kevin Bell told AFP, with the few hundred that have reopened relying on alternative payment solutions such as customers paying using their smartphones.
Cybersecurity firm ESET said it had identified victims of the hack in at least 17 countries, from South Africa to Britain to Mexico. New Zealand’s education ministry said at least two schools there had been affected.
‘REvil hackers suspected’
A banner with the logo of bitcoin is seen during the crypto-currency conference Bitcoin 2021 Convention at the Mana Convention Center in Miami, Florida, on June 4, 2021. Marco BELLO / AFP
Experts believe the attack was probably carried out by REvil, a Russian-speaking hacking group known as a prolific perpetrator of ransomware attacks.
A post on Happy Blog, a site on the dark web previously associated with the group, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it had infected “more than a million systems” — which if true would make this attack “absolutely gargantuan in scale”, according to Martin.
The FBI believes that REvil, which also goes by the name Sodinokibi, was behind a ransomware attack last month on global meat-processing giant JBS. The Brazil-based company ended up paying $11 million in bitcoin to the hackers.
The hackers’ blog post said they would release a decryption tool online “so everyone will be able to recover from attack in less than an hour” — if they were handed $70 million in bitcoin.
The hackers have also been reaching out to individual victims and demanding smaller ransoms, Martin said.
“As far as I understand it, they’ve been issuing demands that are about $50,000 for smaller organisations, rising to $5 million for larger organisations,” he told AFP. “We don’t know who’s paid.”
Kaseya said Sunday it believed the damage had been restricted to a “very small number” of customers using its signature VSA software, which lets companies manage networks of computers and printers from a single point.
But cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs said in a Reddit forum that it was working with partners targeted in the attack, and that the software was manipulated “to encrypt more than 1,000 companies”.
Kaseya said it had “immediately shut down” its servers after detecting the attack on Friday and warned its VSA customers to do the same, “to prevent them from being compromised”.
The company has released a tool allowing its customers to find out whether their own computer systems have been compromised by the attack.
‘State-tolerated’ hacking’
In recent months numerous US companies, including the computer group SolarWinds and the Colonial oil pipeline, have been the victims of high-profile ransomware attacks, which the FBI blames on hackers based in Russia.
While Washington officials do not accuse the Russian government of direct involvement in such attacks, they say the country is harbouring hackers who should be arrested.
US President Joe Biden raised the threat in talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin last month, and on Saturday ordered a full investigation into the Kaseya attack.
“Most experts would take the view that it’s highly unlikely that it’s state-directed,” Martin said of this latest cyber-assault. “It’s state-tolerated.”
FundQuest Financial Services Limited marked this year’s International Women’s Month with a renewed commitment to economic empowerment, hosting the inaugural FundHER by FundQuest Conference.
This initiative brought together over 100 women-led Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), providing them with actionable business insights, high-value networking, and, most importantly, access to funding.
Delivering the first keynote address, Dr. Jennifer Seidu, Principal Consultant, JV Management Consulting Limited, underscored the critical hurdles female entrepreneurs face: constrained access to funding, market expansion limitations, regulatory roadblocks, and operational inefficiencies.
She lauded FundQuest’s decisive intervention through FundHER, recognising the initiative as a timely and much-needed response to the financial inequities that women-led businesses encounter.
Joan Ediagbonya, Group Head, Brand Communication and Customer Experience at FundQuest, also reinforced these concerns with data, pointing out that while women own 45 per cent of SMEs in Nigeria, only 10 per cent have access to formal funding. Quoting Michelle Obama, she emphasised, “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.”
Similarly, Ms. Olubukola Olaigbe, CEO of Veedic Nigeria Limited, shared how accessing financing from FundQuest facilitated her logistics firm’s expansion, proving that with the right financial support, women entrepreneurs can achieve remarkable business growth.
Speaking on the future of FundHER, Mr. Abiodun Akinjayeju, Managing Director and CEO of FundQuest, made it clear that this initiative is here to stay. In his words; “If you educate a woman, you educate a nation; if you fund a woman’s business, you are funding the economy.”
Fidelity Bank Plc, leading financial institution, released its 2024 full-year Audited Financial Statements, reporting a 210% growth in Profit Before Tax to N385.2 billion.
According to the Bank’s results released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Friday, 28 March 2025, Gross Earnings increased by 87.7% to N1,043.4bn, driven by 106.9% growth in interest and similar income to N950.6bn.
The increase in Interest Income was led by a combination of improved yield on earnings assets and 51.6% expansion in earnings base to N6.3tn. This led to a Profit After Tax of N278.1 billion, representing a 179.6% annual growth.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, managing director/chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank Plc said, “We are delighted with our 2024 full-year (FY) performance, which showed strong growth across key revenue lines, improved asset quality, and significant traction in our strategic business segments.
“Our impressive results led to a triple-digit increase (210.0%) in Profit Before Tax (PBT), rising from N124.3bn in 2023 to N385.2bn in 2024.”
A further review of the financial performance revealed that the bank’s net interest income increased by 127.1% to N629.8 billion, driven by a high-yield environment in 2024.
To optimize its margin, the bank sustained its asset yields above funding cost by maintaining a high low-cost deposit profile at 92.6%. This led to an increase in its Net Interest Margin from 8.1% in 2023 FY to 12.0%.
Similarly, the bank continued to deepen its market share in both the corporate and retail segments, with customer deposits increasing by 47.9% from N4.0trn in 2023FY to N5.9trn. The increase was driven by strong double-digit growth across all deposit types.
The Retail Banking Business gained significant traction with savings deposits increasing by 28.8% to N1.1trn, marking the 10th consecutive year of double-digit annual growth in savings deposits.
Despite the difficult economic terrain in 2024, the bank has continued to support the real sector of the economy by increasing its Net Loans & Advances from N3.1tn in 2023FY to N4.4tn in 2024FY.
“This remarkable performance demonstrates our capacity to deliver superior returns to our shareholders. In line with our commitment to them, we have declared a final dividend of N1.25 per share, bringing our total dividend for the 2024 financial year to N2.10 per share”, explained Onyeali-Ikpe.
Having consistently paid dividends since 2006, Fidelity Bank will pay investors a total dividend of N2.10 per share for the 2024 financial year, subject to shareholders’ approval at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 29 April 2024. The dividend will be paid on 29 April 2025 to shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as of 15 April 2025.
It will be recalled that the bank successfully completed the first phase of its capital raising exercise through a Public Offer and Rights Issue in 2024, which were oversubscribed by 237.92% and 137.73%, respectively.
The positive result is a testament to the strength of the Bank’s franchise in the capital market. A total of N175.9bn was recognized as fresh capital in 2024 financial year from the exercise, which had a positive impact on its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) at 23.5%.
The bank plans to conclude the second phase by Q3 2025, ahead of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s deadline, which will further strengthen its capital base and reaffirm its attainment of Tier 1 Bank status in the Nigerian Banking Industry.
Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged commercial bank with over 9.1 million customers who are serviced across its 251 business offices and various digital banking channels in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine. Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards
The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to Nigeria to support the country’s Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
According to information obtained from the bank’s website on Sunday, the approval, which took place on March 28, 2025, marks a significant step in addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges through expanded access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms.
The project, officially titled the NIGERIA: Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Program, aims to provide essential support to households affected by economic downturns and to bolster community resilience.
It also seeks to improve food security and create economic opportunities for populations most affected by recent economic disruptions.
According to the World Bank, the program represents a significant step toward addressing systemic vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s economy.
By channeling resources directly to underserved communities, the project should alleviate the burden of rising living costs while fostering sustainable growth.
The $500 million loan is not the only financial commitment Nigeria anticipates this week as two additional funding packages are in the pipeline, awaiting final approval.
One of the loans is valued at $80 million and will focus on accelerating nutrition outcomes across the country.
The second, worth approximately $552 million, is designed to enhance access to quality basic education nationwide as both projects are scheduled for final clearance on March 31, 2025.
These loans are part of the World Bank’s broader strategy to support Nigeria’s development priorities, most especially in areas such as healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation, while the institution emphasized the importance of implementing these programs efficiently to ensure maximum impact.
While the loans aim to address urgent socio-economic needs, Nigeria’s rising debt profile has raised concerns among stakeholders. Under the President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, the country has received approvals for 11 World Bank projects totaling 7.45 billion in less than two years. However, data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) reveal that only 774.99 million (about 16% of the approved amount) had been disbursed as of July 31, 2024.
This slow pace of disbursement has sparked debates about the efficiency of project execution and fund utilization
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