E-Business
HP Unveils Newest Pavilion x360 14 for Exceptional Entertainment Experience

HP, producers of premium laptops and printers, has once again made good on its promise to continue to provide its Nigerian customers with its latest innovative products. The company introduced its newest HP Pavilion x360 14 and 15 designed for an exceptional entertainment experience for the Nigerian market.
The HP Pavilion x360 14 and 15 are perfect for consumers on the hunt for a versatile laptop that allows them to stream content or game from anywhere. The devices have been updated with a more compact, lightweight design and feature optional Wi-Fi 61 for reliable connectivity in busy households and public spaces.
Together with the highest screen to body ratio for an HP mainstream x360, OMEN Gaming Hub preinstalled, and Voice Assistance, consumers can experience better entertainment and a lighter weight for easier mobility.
Ifeyinwa Afe, Managing Director of HP Nigeria said, “the latest Pavilion products have reiterated our commitment in Nigeria, to always make sure that our customers are among the first in the world to experience HP’s latest innovative products.
These products showcase the cutting-edge technology that HP is known for. For creative and technical pros in media and entertainment, architecture, and data science fields – our ecosystem helps transform creative processes and accelerate workflows.”
Designed with the environment in mind, the Pavilion x360 14 and 15 are two of HP’s most sustainable consumer laptops to date made from ocean-bound plastic bottles.
A more premium configuration features recycled aluminum in the keyboard deck, reducing production waste from the post-industry recycle process and ultimately saving over 341 tons of CO2 emissions over the projected product lifecycle volume.
Both PCs also contain post-consumer recycled plastic and are EPEAT Gold Registered and Energy Star Certified.
In terms of entertainment, the PCs are equipped with a four-sided micro-edge bezel and have up to an 88.92% screen to body ratio, the largest for an HP mainstream convertible PC. The reduced bezel dimensions give users more screen time for an immersive entertainment experience.
As people work, learn, and play from home more during the pandemic, HP will introduce a simplified version of OMEN Gaming Hub to Pavilion users. Preinstalled on the new Pavilion x360 14 and 15, users can experience the popular gaming dashboard with features that allow them to check their system vitals, download wallpaper, earn rewards, and more.
And with new Amazon Alexa skills, users can use their PC to drop-in on other supported devices, stay in contact with family and friends with hands-free calling, discover music through a dedicated landing page, and control their smart home devices. Cortana and China’s Xiaowei are also supported.
Both devices also feature a 12 mm reduction in the Y dimension, which contributes to a six percent decrease in the overall footprint and a lighter weight as low as 1.509kg, making them HP’s lightest Pavilion convertibles. Stay connected with optional Wi-Fi 6 2×2 ax1 & 1×2 ax for that fast connectivity in a busy home or crowded café.
The HP Pavilion x360 14 and 15 will be available in the Nigerian market in April this year.
E-Business
Firm Reports a 48% Increase in Malicious Packages Threatening Software Supply Chains

Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) experts at the 10th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2025 held recently, talked about supply chain attacks and reported that by the end of 2024 a total of 14,000 malicious packages were found in open-source projects, a 48% increase compared to the end of 2023. 42 million versions of open-source packages have been examined by Kaspersky throughout 2024 in search for vulnerabilities.
Open-source is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Popular open-source packages include GoMod, Maven, NuGet, npm, PyPI, and others.
These are tools that power countless applications and help developers easily find, install, and manage pre-built code libraries, making it simpler to build software by reusing code others have written. Attackers take advantage of the popularity of these and other packages.
In March 2025, the Lazarus Group was reported to have deployed several malicious npm packages, which were downloaded multiple times before removal. These packages contained malware to steal credentials, cryptocurrency wallet data, and deploy backdoors, targeting developers’ systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The attack leveraged GitHub repositories for added legitimacy, highlighting the group’s sophisticated supply chain tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT also found other npm packages related to this attack. Malicious npm packages could have been integrated into web development, cryptocurrency platforms, and enterprise software, risking widespread data theft and financial losses.
In 2024, a sophisticated backdoor was discovered in XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, a widely used compression library in Linux distributions. Inserted by a trusted contributor, the malicious code targeted SSH servers, enabling remote command execution and threatening countless systems globally.
Detected before widespread exploitation due to performance anomalies, the incident highlighted the dangers of supply chain attacks. XZ Utils is integral to operating systems, cloud servers, and IoT devices, making its compromise a threat to critical infrastructure and enterprise networks.
In 2024, Kaspersky’s GReAT discovered that attackers uploaded malicious Python packages like chatgpt-python and chatgpt-wrapper to PyPI, mimicking legitimate tools for interacting with ChatGPT APIs.
These packages, designed to steal credentials and deploy backdoors, capitalised on the popularity of AI development to trick developers into downloading them. These packages could have been used in AI development, chatbot integrations, and data analytics platforms, endangering sensitive AI workflows and user data.
“Open-source software is the backbone of many modern solutions, but its openness is being weaponised. The 50% rise in malicious packages by the end of 2024 shows attackers are actively embedding sophisticated backdoors and data stealers in popular packages, which millions rely on.
“Without rigorous vetting and real-time monitoring, a single compromised package can trigger a global breach. Organisations need to secure the supply chain before the next XZ Utils-level attack succeeds,” comments Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center for Russia and CIS at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team.
E-Business
NDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres

Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
E-Business
Nigeria Among Hotspots as Kaspersky Warns of Rising Ransomware Threat in Africa

Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
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