National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has restated its commitments to strengthen the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of Nigerian innovators and inventors to boost the creative ability of people to develop solutions to the many challenges confronting the people.

Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general of NOTAP, made this known in a news conference in Abuja recently to commemorate the   2024  African Day  for Technology and Intellectual Property  Rights, with the theme “Leveraging Technology and IPRs to Drive the Renewed Hope Agenda”

The NOTAP boss  said  the  commemoration,  observed by all African countries  on September 13 every year,  is important because  it will help to facilitate  the domestication of  technology and the development of IPRs in African states  to assist people to develop  solutions  to the many  challenges  confronting the continent  to eradicate  poverty and drive  sustainable development.

Amadiobi said that “NOTAP as an agency has the added responsibility of promoting inventions and innovations of Nigerian researchers and has not failed in pursuing the mandate especially in sensitising the research community and the general public on the vital role of IPR in Nigeria’s technological development.”

She noted that  these responsibilities were carried out through the establishment of over sixty-five (65) Intellectual Property and Technology Transfers Offices (IPTIOs) across the length and breadth of Nigeria;

Processing of over one thousand (1,000) patent applications received and submitted to the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry; Granting of assistance to researchers at no cost in the acquisition of over three hundred (300) patent certificates from the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry.

She added that 70 of these patent certificates have been commercialised in the Nigerian markets and five (5) in the international markets; while the agency has also launched and distributed  publication on “Guidelines for Commercialization of R&D results in Nigeria”; Identification and publishing of a compendium of viable R&D results from various research sectors in Nigeria and Sustained engagements with stakeholders in the National Innovation System (NIS) to facilitate the commercialization of viable R&D products.

She said that an initiative has been taken to develop market ready products and industry trained academia through NOTAP, Industry and Academia linkage project as NOTAP- Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) which has successfully witnessed the engagement of 21 fellows, viable products and generation of valuable Patents.

“To strengthen research and development infrastructure, NOTAP is also engaging the private sector to upgrade laboratories in various tertiary institutions across the country,” she added.

She also reaffirmed NOTAP’s commitment to guiding the process of technology transfer and promotion of IPRs to shore up indigenous inventors and innovators in order to drive progress and harness the benefits of innovation and creativity for the development of Nigeria to build a greater future for us all.

Insider threat reverberates in Cybervergent half year cyber threat report between January and June 2024 released over the weekend. According the report, “often underestimated and underestimated, insider threats are like the silent assassins in the gym, packing a knockout punch despite always being overlooked.

“In the first half of 2024 there has been a 50% increase in successful Insider threat attacks within Nigeria alone. Unlike external attackers who rely on fancy footwork and social engineering jabs, insider threats have a secret weapon – trusted access.

“They’re already inside the gym, bypassing security ropes with their legitimate credentials. They know the routines, the weaknesses in the defenses, and can land a surprise blow before anyone notices,” the report stated.

Analyzing the report, Mr. Gbolabo Awelewa, the Chief Solutions Officer at Cybervergent, classified the different types of insider threats to include꞉

Disgruntled Employees꞉ Motivated by anger, financial gain, or a feeling of being benched, these individuals can inflict serious damage.

Accidental Insiders꞉ These are the athletes who forget their water bottles and leave the locker room door open – a simple mistake with potentially big consequences. They highlight the importance of solid security training programs.

Negligent Insiders꞉ These are the gym rats who forget their water bottles and leave the locker room door open – an employee working from a public space and leaving his/her laptop unlocked to dash to the restroom or pick a call; a simple mistake with potentially big consequences. They highlight the importance of solid security training programs.

Credential Compromise꞉ Insiders with compromised credentials, either through phishing scams or malware, become unwitting accomplices, letting attackers into the gym through the back door.

Industrial Espionage꞉ Competitors or foreign agents might try to recruit insiders to steal your intellectual property – like spying on your secret training techniques.

The report also revealed how Cybervergent detected 586,130 attacks on organizations that it manages in Nigeria.

Among the 586,130 attacks launched on various organizations, Cybervergent was able to resolve 226,103 of the attacks by automation, while 19,920 endpoints were protected by Cybervergent.

According to the report, events analysed by Cybervergent’s Security Operations Centre (SOC), reached 304,522, while all potentially malicious events analysed by Cybervergent within the same six months period, reached 42,200.

Mr Awelewa said with the increasing threat in the cyberspace, organizations must ensure that regular application and systems updates are carried out on existing applications and systems to prevent the attacks at scale.

Highlighting the threat actors that targeted Nigeria in the first half of the year, Awelwewa listed them to include: Gelsemium, Equation Group, Lyceum, Gamaredon, Circus Spider, Mirage, Common Raven, Bronze Highland, Earth Krahang, as well as Insider Threat Syndrome.

According to him, Gelsemium is a sophisticated cyber espionage group known for its targeted attacks on high‑profile organisations across various sectors.

“They use custom malware and advanced techniques to evade detection, and their target is on public administration, educational services and national security,” he said.

The also spotted common cyber challenges where organizations were struggling such as: Outdated Equipment꞉ Legacy systems were holding many organizations back, making them easy targets for modern cyber threats.

Limited Resources꞉ Smaller organizations and even some larger ones were struggling to afford the right equipment (security tools) and trainers (skilled personnel) for a comprehensive workout.

Lack of Knowledge꞉ Many organizations were uninformed about the latest fitness trends (security standards) like ISO 27001꞉2022, CBN Frameworks, and PCI DSS 4.0, leaving them vulnerable to injury (a data breach).

Human Error꞉ Insufficient training led to avoidable errors, opening the door for cyber attackers.

NBA Africa has unveiled the list of ten startup companies from seven African countries selected for the Demo Day at the NBA headquarters in New York City on Wednesday, Sept. 25 as part of “Triple-Double: NBA Africa Startup Accelerator,” which the league launched in April 2024.

At the event, designed to support Africa’s technology ecosystem and the next generation of African entrepreneurs, the ten start-ups will pitch their products to a panel of international industry leaders, after which four winning companies selected will be awarded financial support and mentorship, including an opportunity to participate in workshops and development programmes facilitated by NBA Africa or its partners.

The selected companies from Nigeria include Buzza (Nigeria) which helps sports organisations improve their operations through digital solutions, including digital management transition and Festival Coins (Nigeria), an event technology company that offers a customised, no-code event registration and ticketing platform for events.

The other two are Naemo Global (Nigeria) which aims to revolutionise sports scouting on the African continent through its proprietary data analytics and AI-utilising scouting software, Afriskaut and Salubata (Nigeria) which creates modular shoes repurposed from plastic waste and noted for innovation while reducing the global carbon footprint.

The six other companies from across the continent include one each from Rwanda (Backrest), which provides a wearable technology solution called WristWrist to facilitate cashless payments at event venues, Côte d’Ivoire (Gara), a pan-African video gaming and comics platform that facilitates the distribution of digital entertainment experiences; and Kenya (HustleSasa), which provides live event services that support payment processing, attendee check-in, merchandise sales, customer data management and more.

Others are from Ghana (Power to Girls Foundation), which provides a social connection and mentorship platform called My Power App dedicated to empowering girls and women aged between 13 and 20, and Egypt (UBR VR), which delivers state-of-the-art, fully immersive, in-person virtual reality (VR) experiences across Egypt and South Africa (Vambo Technologies), known for a digital language technology platform leveraging AI to provide real-time translation, content creation, and language learning technology.

Speaking of the initiative, NBA Africa CEO Clare Akamanzi, said: “We have been inspired by the level of talent and creativity from all of the applicants, and we congratulate the 10 deserving finalists who will showcase their innovative solutions at Demo Day later this month.”

He added that “NBA Africa is committed to supporting the continued growth of startups on the continent, including the four prize-winners whose innovative solutions will further elevate the sport and creative industries in Africa for years to come.”

Operated by ALX Ventures, “Triple-Double: NBA Africa Startup Accelerator” was open to early-stage startups in Africa that develop solutions in event management and ticketing, youth development, AI, and digital marketing.

The initiative will support Africa’s tech ecosystem and the next generation of African tech entrepreneurs by providing them with access to mentorship and capital that will help drive growth in the sports and creative industries.

The four prize-winning startups will be announced at Demo Day.

NBA Africa is an affiliate of the National Basketball Association (NBA), a global sports and media organisation with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.

NBA Africa conducts the league’s business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and has opened subsidiary offices in Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; Johannesburg, South Africa; Lagos, Nigeria; and Nairobi, Kenya.