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MainOne Explains Recent Internet Glitches in West Africa

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In an age where internet connectivity is the bedrock for day to day activities such as banking, access to social and government services, have we considered what will happen if our internet connection suddenly goes down?

This recently happened across West Africa last week due to two submarine cable cuts on both the West African Cable System (WACS) and SAT-3 cable, off the coast Gabon and Congo, fibre optic cables which link countries in West and South Africa to Europe.

Although other submarine cables such as MainOne, ACE and Glo were able provide backup internet capacities to the providers being served via the WACS and SAT3 cables, the impact would have been a lot less if the affected Service Providers (ISP) in these countries were inter-connected in-country and if the data required to deliver critical services in these countries were hosted in local data centers.

Such interconnections are enabled by Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) that enable network carriers exchange traffic among themselves close to the markets they serve. In Nigeria, with access to the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) and West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX), internet users were able to still access web content such as Google and Facebook amongst others during the submarine cable cut because these Global OTTs have localized their data to bring their content closer to the eye balls that they serve.

However, the same cannot be said of various Nigerian online based businesses and service providers who host their data offshore or who are not directly connected to local exchanges.

One major benefit of hosting data and inter-connecting locally, is that should service to the country be disrupted, basic services that essential for day to day activities can still be delivered online.

Another benefit is that the latency will become far reduced as transactions are not going through Europe for completion but rather travels a far shorter distance to the website and/or transaction engine hosted locally.

Furthermore, by peering at local exchanges, customers reduced internet transit costs due to the elimination of the international transit through overseas carriers.

To further illustrate the benefits of internet exchange points; imagine that you live in Lagos, but your email service provider has their servers only in London.

If you’re forwarding an email to your neighbor, it will first go to London before it goes across the street. It would be much faster if your email server provider had their servers in Lagos and were connected to multiple IXPs within the country rather than connecting abroad first.

Though all internet traffic eventually reaches its intended destination, interconnection of all service providers and full enablement of local traffic exchange vis IXPs will aid faster delivery, improving performance from the end user’s standpoint.

Recently, the CBN has included this requirement to interconnect with local IXPs as a requirement for payment processors, but the requirement needs to go beyond these new online providers to cover the entire ecosystem across Nigeria.

This is a strategic issue globally and countries such as Russia have recently conducted tests to ensure internet services in the country will continue to function if they are disconnected from the global Internet for any reason.

A board member of the West Africa Internet exchange (WAF-IX) and COO of VDT, Mrs. Bimbo Ikumariegbe, said, “Internet Service providers connected to IXPs create a local community thus reducing the routing of traffic through international links.

By keeping traffic local, traffic is reduced on international links, providing significant improvement on local Internet performance for individuals and businesses while ISPs gain substantial cost savings for their networks”.

Speaking on the importance, Muhammed Rudman, IXPN CEO, said “By leveraging connections to IXPs, internet traffic originating and terminating on any network in Nigeria will remain in-country ensuring the international cables become less congested and more efficient, leading to improved performance of applications and websites, reduced costs and minimized traffic bottlenecks for Internet traffic in Nigeria”

We need to recognize that the Internet has become an essential tool for daily existence in Nigeria and ensure our service providers leverage on local internet exchanges to ensure sustainability of essential services irrespective of global internet disruptions that the providers may be unable to prevent.


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E-Business

Naija Shopping Festival: Konga Offers Unbeatable Christmas Deals

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Nigeria’s leading e-commerce platform, Konga, has unveiled the Naija Shopping Festival, a Christmas sales event designed to offer shoppers extraordinary discounts and unbeatable deals.

This exciting shopping extravaganza begins on December 1 and runs through December 30, promising an unforgettable experience for all.

With discounts of up to 70% off on your favourite products, the Naija Shopping Festival is Konga’s way of spreading festive cheer and ensuring no one misses out on amazing deals.

This event caters especially to those who could not participate in Konga Yakata, giving everyone a chance to save big this holiday season.

The festival boasts a wide array of incredible offers across multiple categories, including mobile phones, electronics, FMCG, fashion, groceries, and accessories.

Shoppers can also enjoy specially curated deals such as Christmas Eve Deals, Flash Sales, Santa Shop, and Hamper Packs, ensuring there’s something for everyone this festive period.

Konga is partnering with top global brands such as Apple, Starlink, HP, Zinox, CeraVe, Lenovo, Haier Thermocool, Samsung, and Infinix to deliver the best possible deals. Customers can expect discounts of up to 70% on premium products, ensuring maximum value on every purchase.

Speaking on the launch, Onochie Melvin, E-commerce Manager at Konga, stated, “The Naija Shopping Festival is our way of giving back to our customers and making this Christmas season special for every Nigerian.

“We remain committed to easing the financial burden on Nigerian consumers, especially during challenging economic times. Also, we want to ensure shopping is fun, affordable, and stress-free. With our trusted partners, we’ve curated the best deals to meet the needs of every shopper during this festive period.”

As always, Konga is committed to making shopping easy and convenient for Nigerians.

“By offering substantial price cuts and collaborating with trusted brands, Konga continues to set the standard for e-commerce in Nigeria.

To have a feel of Konga’s Naija Shopping Festival, visit www.konga.com today and make your Christmas shopping a joyful experience.

 


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TD Africa Joins Forces with Check Point to Enhance Cybersecurity in Nigeria

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TD Africa, a leading technology distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa, has joined forces with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global cybersecurity leader, to enhance Nigeria’s cybersecurity resilience.

This strategic partnership, announced at a partner roundtable event in Lagos and attended by industry executives, stakeholders, and IT professionals, facilitated discussions on emerging cybersecurity trends and fostered strategic partnerships.

Participants explored innovative approaches to digital security, concluding with a networking session designed to spark future collaborations and strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Abiodun Idowu, Assistant General Manager for TD Africa, highlighted the company’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions, saying: “This partnership with Check Point reflects our commitment to providing advanced tools that safeguard businesses against today’s complex cyber threats.”

Check Point’s Security Manager, Victor Ugwu, who underscored the partnership’s significance in strengthening cybersecurity frameworks in Nigeria, said, “With this collaboration with TD Africa, we aim to deploy innovative solutions like Harmony and CloudGuard to protect organizations across the country.”

TD Africa now offers Check Point’s Harmony and Email Collaboration solutions, incorporating Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology to enable secure connectivity for remote and hybrid work environments.

Additionally, the partnership provides CloudGuard, an end-to-end cloud security solution, and Quantum Firewall appliances, which scale to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.

This partnership reinforces TD Africa’s position as a driving force in Nigeria’s technological advancement. By delivering robust cybersecurity solutions, TD Africa empowers businesses to navigate the digital age with confidence and resilience.


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Kaspersky Contributes to Joint INTERPOL-AFRIPOL Operation Combating Cybercrime Across Africa

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Kaspersky has recently assisted its partner law enforcement agencies INTERPOL and AFRIPOL in a joint effort to disrupt cybercrime across the African region.

Dubbed “Serengeti,” the operation has led to the arrest of more than 1,000 individuals suspected of links to cybercrimes such as ransomware operation and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, resulting in nearly US $193 million in financial losses worldwide.

As Africa is going through a rapid digitisation, the threat of cybercrime on the continent is also escalating. In the African region in general and West Africa in particular, ransomware emerges as one of the most prominent attack vectors, targeting critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and manufacturing facilities, among others.

During the first 10 months of 2024, ransomware detections in West Africa surged by 36% year-on-year, according to Kaspersky data. Other noticeable cyberthreats targeting users and organisations in the region include spyware and password stealers.

Conducted from September 2 to October 31, operation Serengeti dismantled 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks linked to cybercrimes including ransomware operations, BEC attacks, digital extortion and online scams — all identified as prominent threats in INTERPOL’s 2024 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report.

Kaspersky has contributed to the operation by sharing information on threat actors, data on ransomware attacks and malware targeting the region, as well as up-to-date indicators of compromise (IoCs) for malicious infrastructure across Africa.

Among the malware targeting African countries was also a well-known Brazilian banking trojan Grandoreiro – Kaspersky recently released new findings on this trojan at its Security Analyst Summit. Additionally, ransomware families detected in attacks on African organisations among others included LockBit, Rhysida, and Medusa.

The operation has also resulted in the identification of more than 35,000 victims of cyber offenses investigated.

Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL, said: “From multi-level marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern.

Operation Serengeti shows what we can achieve by working together, and these arrests alone will save countless potential future victims from real personal and financial pain. We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will continue targeting these criminal groups worldwide.”

Ambassador Jalel Chelba, AFRIPOL’s Acting Executive Director said: “Through Serengeti, AFRIPOL has significantly enhanced support for law enforcement in African Union Member States. We’ve facilitated key arrests and deepened insights into cybercrime trends. Our focus now includes emerging threats like AI-driven malware and advanced attack techniques.”

“We are proud to contribute to this multi-stakeholder operation orchestrated by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL,” comments Yuliya Shlychkova, Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Kaspersky. “The emerging dynamics of the threat landscape in Africa requires a stronger regional dialogue on mitigating acute cybersecurity risks.

Kaspersky firmly supports INTERPOL’s and AFRIPOL’s efforts to prevent and disrupt cybercrime attacks across Africa and shares the holistic approach towards creating a more cyber-resilient environment within the continent.”

Thanks to the cooperation with INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, Kaspersky has been an active contributor to fostering a more cyber-savvy environment in the African region.

In addition to the vast record of joint operations in Africa, with the latest being INTERPOL-led operation Synergia II, Kaspersky has recently sealed a five-year cooperation agreement with AFRIPOL to further strengthen its role in creating a more cybersafe climate on the continent by sharing Kaspersky’s extensive data on local cyberthreats and cybercrime trends with the organisation.


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