E-Business
Konga Makes List of Top 20 Brands to watch in 2020
The Management of e-commerce giant, Konga, has underlined its determination to continually take the lead in elevating standards, improving customer satisfaction and deepening the growth of the Nigerian e-commerce sector.
Making the assertion was Nick Imudia, co-chief executive officer, Konga Group.
Equally important, Imudia was reacting to the recent inclusion of Konga in an exclusive list of top 20 global brands to watch in 2020. Unarguably, the impressive leadership credentials and groundbreaking strides of Konga in the Nigerian retail sector since its acquisition by the Zinox Group in 2018, was further affirmed by its inclusion in the rarefied list.
Indeed, the Board of Editors of ThisDay Newspapers had identified Konga in a list of top 20 brands to watch in 2020 released in January.
The rating consisted of both local and international brands across banking, FastMoving Consumer Goods (FMCG), telecommunications, media, agriculture, software engineering, financial technology, among others.
Among the brands listed are Dangote, GTB, Facebook, Instagram, MTN Group, Globacom, Google, Zenith, Access Bank, Interswitch, Twitter, YouTube, Flutterwave, Paystack, Andela, Chivita, Indomie, Lake Rice, Wacot Rice and ARISE Play.
Konga was the only e-commerce brand that made its way into the list.
The report hailed Konga for growing the Nigerian e-commerce market with its novel omni-channel model fusing online shopping with brick- and-mortal stores, which has seen the brand becoming number one choice for consumers.Also, it took a look at some of the strategic investments made by the new owners of Konga, even as the Board explained that such investments would go a long way in shaping up the e-commerce space in 2020.
‘‘Konga, which was acquired by Zinox Group in January 2018, has contributed to the growth and sustainability of e-commerce in Nigeria,’’ the citation on Konga stated.
‘‘Two years down the line, Konga has maintained leadership position in Nigeria’s e-commerce space.
“One of the strides recorded is the roll out of brick-and-mortar stores in various Nigerian cities, which have grown its physical store presence to more than 30 nationwide.
‘‘Today, Konga is nearest to the customers as a result of its ubiquitous physical stores which dot Nigeria’s landscape.
“Interestingly, these stores also serve a very important dual function; not only as ordering centres but equally as fulfillment centres where customers can pay and collect their items, including those ordered online.
“Having invested in critical infrastructure with the set-up of major regional warehousing facilities, Konga is set to shape the e-commerce industry in 2020.’’
Reacting to the development, Imudia expressed his delight at the rating which he described as well-deserved.
Further, Imudia revealed that the entire management and staff of Konga is further encouraged by the high expectations placed on Konga by the unbiased judgement of the assessors.
According to him, Konga has no reason not to perform beyond expectations in 2020, even as he disclosed that the company has lined up a suite of exciting initiatives which will thrill the market.
“We are delighted by the inclusion of Konga in the list of top 20 global brands to watch in 2020 by the ThisDay Board of Editors.
“The rating is proof of the huge strides and landmark achievements that Konga has recorded in the sector.
“As a matter of fact, our determination to continually lead from the front in meeting and exceeding the aspirations of our growing customers, no matter where they may be, while also growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s e-commerce sector, is unmatched.
‘‘This recognition has further emboldened all of us at Konga to show the world what makes Konga stand out in the market-place, especially as we continue to add new business units while unveiling our revolutionary strategies.
“The future is certainly bright for Konga and the e-commerce sector in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general,” he concluded.
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.
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.
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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