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E-Business

Internet Society says Community Networks Key to Connecting Africa

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As Internet access continues to grow in Africa, with over 450 million people now connected to the Internet, more than 60 percent of the population still remains offline. Community Networks are a key way to address this connectivity gap, says the Internet Society, a global non-profit dedicated to ensuring the open development, evolution and use of the Internet.

Community Networks are communications infrastructure built, managed and used by local communities. They provide a sustainable solution to address the connectivity gaps that exist in underserved urban, remote, and rural areas around the world.

In Africa, where these gaps are more prevalent, a recent survey was able to identify 37 community networks initiatives in 12 African countries, of which 25 are considered active.

The Internet Society in partnership with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Zenzeleni Networks will hold the third Africa Community Networks Summit in the Eastern Cape, South Africa from 3-7 September, 2018.

The Summit aims to promote the creation and growth of Community Networks, increase collaboration between community network operators in the region, and to provide an opportunity for them to engage with other stakeholders including content producers, regulators and policymakers.

Particpants from 13 countries in Africa (Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, DRC, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia) will be attending the summit in addition to attendees representing Community Networks in Spain, Germany, Argentina, India and the United States.

The conference sessions will cover topics ranging from how Community Networks can close the connectivity gap in Africa to strategies to support local access.

Discussions will also include how local networks can be used to improve delivery of basic services and inspire creation of locally relevant content and services, as well as how to create policies and regulations that enable Community Networks in Africa.

Access to spectrum is critical for Community Networks.  Policy makers and regulators can play a key role in ensuring innovative approaches to making spectrum available by working with Community Networks.

An Internet Society report  examines the various ways that Community Networks can gain access to spectrum, including the use of unlicensed spectrum, sharing licensed spectrum, and innovative licensing.

“Enabling communities to actually connect themselves is a new way of thinking,” explains Michuki Mwangi, Senior Development Manager for Africa at the Internet Society.

“Policy makers and regulators should recognize that connectivity can be instigated from a village or a town and that they can help communities to connect themselves by providing an enabling environment with innovative licensing and access to spectrum.”

The Africa Community Networks Summit will conclude with a visit to communities served by Zenzeleni Networks, South Africa’s first telecommunications organization that is owned and run by a rural cooperative.

Zenzeleni Networks installs and maintains its own telecommunications infrastructure to deliver affordable voice and data services.  All revenues stay in the community and the residents together decide what is done with the proceeds.

The cost to deploy Community Networks can be low. Often, the technology required to build and maintain the network is as simple as a (inexpensive, locally available) wireless router.

The networks can range from WiFi-only to mesh networks and mobile networks that provide voice and SMS services.  While they usually serve communities under 3,000 people, some serve more than 50,000 users.

“These networks not only provide affordable access in areas where operators don’t find it commercially viable to provide similar services,  but, by being built and operated by people from within the community, they bring many other benefits to the areas where they operate.

They are key to enabling the unconnected connect themselves in Africa,” explains Carlos-Rey Moreno, Community Access Project Coordinator for APC.


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E-Business

Gov. Mbah Tasks Youths to Embrace Technology as Enugu Tech Festival Opens

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The 2025 Enugu Tech Festival being organised by the Enugu State Government kicked off yesterday with the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, describing it as the biggest technology conference that has ever happened in Nigeria.

Tijani said the Tech Festival, which attracted thousands of youths from within and outside the state, was a major leap for Nigeria’s determination to build a robust digital economy, noting that Enugu State under Governor Peter Mbah, had moved from policy to progress to lead the tech revolution in Nigeria.

This was even as Governor Peter Mbah urged the youths to embrace technology, insisting that the future is technology.

Speaking, the Minister said that the Tech Festival, tagged Coal to Code, fitted into the agenda and activities of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, having recognised that the future of digital economy in Nigeria would not only be built in Abuja, but would instead be co-created across all states.

“Enugu is showing how this should and will be done. I have never, never been to a conference on technology in Nigeria that is this big. I founded the first technology hub in Nigeria, the very first in Nigeria. So, I know a thing or two when technology people gather. I can assure you that today, you are part of history because we have never seen anything this big in Nigeria before.

“There is something powerful about your state: the energy, the ambition, the possibilities. Just two years ago, only a few people could imagine this kind of tech momentum. But today, Enugu has not just imagined, Enugu is building it. Under two years, we have seen investment in digital infrastructure, and the innovation ecosystem of the state.

“What is happening today in Enugu is part of something bigger. We are now witnessing a generational rise, not one where people complain and protest, but one where creativity is used to shape the future. Not just with passion, but with precision,” he stated.

While commending the participants for rising to “create the kind of Nigeria the world will pay attention to,” Tijani called for collaboration, commitment, and hard work by all stakeholders to make it happen.

“Progress is not automatic, but needs all of us. It needs the government to continue to be brave. It needs the private sector to invest deeper. It needs mentors, builders, teachers, and it needs leaders,” he concluded.

Speaking, Governor Mbah, while highlighting how his administration had invested in technology to dramatically revolutionise security, land administration, education, among others, noted that the Enugu Tech Festival was part of his government’s wider efforts to build the youth of the state into wealth creators and highly sought-after workforce of tomorrow’s workplace.

“The power of technology and innovation and what we can accomplish is something that I want the youths to be mindful of. If you look at the way things are being done in the world today, we are now talking about an era where people just sit down with great ideas, create platforms where they begin to essentially benefit from that platform.

“An example is the Uber that came and disrupted the city taxi without owning a key. Today, they provide by far the largest traffic just by creating a platform. You can extend that to Airbnb.

Without owning a key, these guys have disrupted the business of those who own several brick and mortar houses. You can also extend that to Tesla. That is the power of technology. This shows essentially that technology is where the future is,” he emphasised.

In his remark, the Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Lawrence Ezeh, said the Enugu Tech Festival, which would now become an annual event, underscored a paradigm shift from the old Enugu known for coal to one that has become a rising force in Nigeria’s tech-driven future, a beacon of innovation, intellectual capital, digital enterprise, and endless possibilities.

“For decades, our identity was built on coal, a resource that powered Nigeria’s industrial rise. But today, we stand in a different kind of power—the power of knowledge, innovation, and technology,” he stated.

Also at the event were the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande; Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu; former Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Barth Nnaji; Chairman of Zinox Technical, Leo Stan Ejeh; and the Group Managing Director, Afrinvest, Dr. Ike Chioke, among a host of others.

 


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Firm Finds Leaked Netflix, Roblox and Discord Accounts Registered on Corporate emails

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Employees may also use corporate emails to register for personal accounts on marketplaces and social media, increasing the risk of account theft and corporate security breaches, according to a study by Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

Kaspersky shares these findings and suggests key cybersecurity practices to mitigate the risks of credential leaks.

Kaspersky experts analysed compromised credentials leaked on the dark web between 2019 and 2024 for three popular entertainment platforms: Roblox, Discord and Netflix. The analysis revealed that, on average, 7% of users whose accounts were leaked had registered on these platforms using a corporate email address.

“Registering on various services for personal use with a work email is not best practice. First, you may lose access to these accounts if you change jobs. Second, it can pose security risks for both you and your company.

“If your passwords follow a predictable pattern across different services – for example, ‘Word2025!’, where ‘2025’ is a recurring part – it increases the likelihood of other accounts being compromised, including your work account, should your corporate email be exposed in a dark web leak,” explains Sergey Shcherbel, expert at Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence.

Kaspersky experts also found that bank employees most commonly registered their work email addresses on streaming services, marketplaces and social networks. In a few cases, corporate emails were also used as logins on gaming platforms and adult content websites.

Corporate email usage on entertainment platforms: statistics from a sample of 50 banking sector companies.

To conduct this study, experts compiled a sample of 50 banking sector companies and examined compromised credentials leaked on the dark web, identifying those linked to the corporate domains of these companies across five categories of popular platforms.

Learn more in the report. In light of this growing infostealer threat, Kaspersky has launched a dedicated landing page to raise awareness of the issue and provide strategies for mitigating associated risks.

If you encounter a data leak through infostealers, the following steps should be taken immediately:

  • Change compromised account passwords and monitor for suspicious activity associated with those accounts.
  • Run full security scans on all devices, removing any detected malware.
  • Companies are recommended to monitor dark web markets proactively to detect compromised accounts before they pose risks to customers or employees. A detailed guide on setting up monitoring can be found here. Leverage Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence to track what cybercriminals know about your company’s assets, identify potential attack vectors, and implement protective measures in a timely manner.
  • As an enterprise, implement a security awareness program for employees, including regular training and performance assessments. Enforce a strict password policy for all corporate resources to reduce the risks of encountering credential-related cyber threats.

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NDPC, Mastercard Partner to Strengthen Data Protection

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Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC and Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard
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Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mastercard to enhance data protection in Nigeria.

Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC and Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard

The agreement was sealed during a workshop where 150 Data Protection Officers (DPOs) were trained on Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).

Dr. Vincent Olatunji, commissioner, NDPC, said the event kicks off activities for the 8th NADPA conference, highlighting government efforts to train more certified DPOs.

Olatunji also disclosed the Federal Government’s commitment to increasing the number of certified DPOs with the required skills to manage data protection.

He noted that Nigeria’s digital-savvy youth are key to driving this agenda.

“Human capital is really key to us, and the ecosystem we are regulating is very special. It is still new, still emerging, and we need all we can to build the capacity of officers.

“We want to build the capacity of our people so we can be able to deliver on our mandate and fully deepen privacy in Nigeria.

“We are targeting to build the capacity of 250,000 DPOs annually, and we are working with partners like Mastercard to achieve that,” he said.

Derek Ho,deputy chief privacy officer, Mastercard,  also stressed the need for collaboration to build trust in the digital economy and urged participants to embrace training as data protection keeps evolving.

 

 


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