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SBTS Group Unveils Health Outbreak Manager to Help Govt., Businesses Manage COVID-19

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The SBTS Group Inc has unveiled Health Outbreak Manager (HOM), a full ITTC (Identify, Track, Trace, and Contain) solution that works as a primary tool to support and aid users in an outbreak and also helps officials and health organization handle outbreaks from start to finish. HOM is powered by the SBTS Group, the company that innovated the first Ebola outbreak system.

HOM is a solution that helps governments, health care organizations, facilities, businesses and citizens manage outbreaks before, during and after a pandemic. It comes handy as the world begins to return to a new normal from the effects of COVID-19.

More Video here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrYlnzew8LZ7U1MUjg0BLxA

Globally, more governments are easing lockdowns and providing guidelines for opening their economies that offer safe social environments for their constituents while continuing to offer support and resources for those exposed. HOM offers a solution tailored to governments, businesses and global health organizations for these complex problems.

HOM is a full ITTC contactless solution that uses mobile technology, tech-enabled manual support to provide pandemic support to both officials and constituents.

The technology encompasses a comprehensive suite which centers around symptoms checker, anonymous electronic contact tracing, using live maps and location-based information to identify those that may have been exposed and provide them with resources and support. This comes integrated with Google and Apple Contact tracing API out of the box.

The main features of HOM for users include:

  • Machine-learned risk profiling that uses area concentration, location and travel history, demographics, vital signs, risk factors, activities and symptom trends, to understand a user’s risk to others and their overall health.
  • Symptom checking to provide users and their families with the most up-to-date information for their current symptoms and direct communication for assistance and clinical support when necessary.

HOM includes six (6) modules to provide the tools to manage their constituent’s safety.

  • Contact Tracing and advanced location—Utilizes short wave Bluetooth and GPS communication to create supporting exposure networks to increase the effectiveness of electronic contact tracing with support for manual contact tracing.
  • Access/Surveillance—Provides secure, contactless ID technology to decide about a person’s risk for entry into any office building, local transit, restaurants, events, etc.
  • Healthcare/Tele-Health—Creates encrypted remote communication between users and healthcare centers for symptom monitoring, consultations, testing and treatment.
  • Transportation/Tourism/Immigration—Delivers departure and arrival Forms/Questionnaires based upon specific country requirements and regulations along with a user’s profile data to mitigate risk for travelers and entrance for visitors and their families with our symptoms checker component included.
  • Quarantine Management—Supports potential and confirmed users and their families who may have been exposed with symptom tracking, location-based reminders, and direct support for services while in quarantine.
  • Data management/Call center—Initiates tailored questionnaires from scientists and researchers alike to provide social powered solutions based on pattern analysis, user experiences, profile information, forms, reports, DHIS2, USSD and survey administration.
  • HOM comes in English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Portuguese.

The SBTS Group Inc. is a global technology firm that helps governments understand and coordinate attention to economic organizational, technological innovation, and integrated enterprise.

“Just like we did in helping governments and other stakeholders leverage technology to manage Ebola, we have created HOM as a full ITTC contactless solution using mobile technology, tech-enabled manual support to provide pandemic support to government, health officials and constituents,” said CEO of SBTS Group, Evelyn Lewis.

Modules

HOM delivers a highly configurable, secure and robust platform proven to work efficiently and effectively. Governments can feel confident in knowing that their constituents are managed and maintained in a responsible way.

These modules adapt to support constituents in both low and high-tech environments to ensure that necessary information is captured securely regardless of the region, connectivity, or population. With Access/Entry at its core, HOM can securely identify individuals, asses profile information, and make necessary decisions to ensure general public safety and quarantine recommendations.

Healthcare Module

Patients can communicate directly with healthcare centers for information, aid, and support.

Tourism/Transportation/Immigration Module

Utilize unique identification, travel history, origin and destination requirements and location-based history for public transportation, air travel and immigration decisions.

Access Module

Utilize unique identification, building requirements, location-based history for access to office building, public events, restaurants and shops.

Advanced Location Module

Using location-based history, along with short wave bluetooth to anonymously monitor proximity and automatic contact tracing when necessary.

Survey Module

Scientist and researchers can get direct insight from users based on symptoms, demographics, and risk factors to improve their understanding of outbreaks and socially engineer solutions.

Features

HOM is a secure contactless solution used to aid and support users during an outbreak. The primary features center around machine-learned risk profiling that uses area concentration, location and travel history, demographics, vitals, risk factors, activities and symptom trends to understand a user’s risk to others and their overall health.

Live MapsUsing public and user reported information to track areas of concentration.

Contact Tracing

Automatically notfify users you may have come in with using location tracking.

Symptom Checker

Check your symptoms and receive suggested measures and support based upon up-to-date recommendations from health officials.

Global Stats and News

With live data feeds and pattern analysis, HOM provides the latest information, verified news stories and statistics to keep you informed.

Profile Sharing

Allows users to share their symptom history with family members and caretakers for monitoring, support, and communications.


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Half of Cybercrime Victims Paid Ransom in 2025-  Sophos

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Cybercriminals continue to profit handsomely, with nearly half of all victimised organisations paying ransom demands in 2025.

Half of Cybercrime Victims Paid Ransom in 2025-  Sophos

This is despite global efforts to curb the spread of ransomware, according to the State of Ransomware 2025 report released by Sophos, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions.

The sixth annual edition of the report, which surveyed 3,400 IT and cybersecurity leaders across 17 countries, revealed that 49 per cent of organisations hit by ransomware attacks opted to pay the ransom to regain access to their encrypted data, the second-highest payment rate recorded by Sophos in the last six years.

While the median ransom demand decreased by a third compared to 2024, the median payment still stood at $1 million, underscoring the continued profitability of ransomware for cybercriminals. Notably, 53 per cent of organisations that paid a ransom were able to negotiate a lower settlement than initially demanded, often through third-party negotiators or internal efforts.

In his reaction, Chester Wisniewski, director and field CISO at Sophos,  averred that for many organisations, the chance of being compromised by ransomware actors is just a part of doing business in 2025, adding that the good news is that, thanks to this increased awareness, many companies are arming themselves with resources to limit damage.

Among those who paid less than the initial demand, 71 per cent successfully negotiated a lower figure. While this signals an increasing awareness and tactical response among victim organisations, the report also noted persistent challenges.

For the third consecutive year, exploited vulnerabilities were identified as the leading technical root cause of ransomware attacks.

Alarmingly, 40 percent of victims said attackers exploited a security gap they were unaware of, underscoring a widespread lack of visibility into organizations’ digital infrastructure.

Additionally, 63 per cent of respondents cited resource constraints, including insufficient personnel or expertise, as contributing factors to their susceptibility. For large enterprises (3,000+ employees), lack of expertise topped the list, while mid-sized organisations (251–500 employees) most frequently cited a lack of personnel.

The use of data backups to restore information following an attack has fallen to its lowest point in six years, with only 54 per cent of companies relying on backups — a drop from previous years.

Despite this, organisations are recovering faster: 53 per cent reported full recovery within one week, up from 35 per cent in 2024. Only 18 percent of firms took over a month to recover, a significant improvement from last year’s 34 per cent.

Sophos attributes these gains to better incident response capabilities and a growing trend toward using Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services.

Such services help companies detect attacks early, respond effectively, and, in some cases, stop attacks in progress.

The report also found significant variation in ransom demands based on industry and company size, adding that organisations with over $1 billion in revenue faced median ransom demands of $5 million; those earning $250 million or less saw demands under $350,000; state and local governments reported the highest median ransom payments at $2.5 million and healthcare organisations paid the lowest, at a median of $150,000.

While attackers are still extracting sizable payments, the overall cost of ransomware recovery has dropped, from $2.73 million in 2024 to $1.53 million in 2025. Sophos credits increased preparedness, improved threat visibility, and wider use of professional response services for this decline.

To further reduce the risk and impact of ransomware, Sophos advises organisations to regularly patch known vulnerabilities and maintain updated security systems; employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) and anti-ransomware protection across all endpoints; use MDR services or maintain 24/7 internal security monitoring; test and maintain a robust incident response plan and ensure regular backups are not only taken but tested for restoration.

As ransomware evolves, so must corporate defenses.

Though the profitability of ransomware remains alarmingly high, the increasing resilience among targeted organisations is a sign of hope and a call to action for those still behind the curve.

 

 

 

 

 


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NCS Advocates Digital Literacy to Enhanced Cyber Security

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Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) recently advocated digital literacy to enhance cyber security in the country.

NCS Advocates Digital Literacy to Enhanced Cyber Security

Muhammad Aliyu, president, NCS, said this in an interview with reporter on the sidelines of the Cybersecurity Forum and Workshop organised by the society in Abuja.

The event had as its theme: `Digital Sovereignty: Building an Agile and Resilient Nation.’

According to him, cyber-attacks were growing in scale, sophistication and impact.

Aliyu said the cyber security landscape in 2024 was shaped by increasing reliance on digital space.

He said that to tackle these challenges, countries and organisations should adopt proactive strategies that leverage local innovations, address skills gaps, and ensure regulatory compliance.

He said collaboration among governments, the private sector and experts was vital for creating a resilient digital ecosystem.

‘’The future of cyber security relies on continuous innovation, education, and collaboration to protect our interconnected world,’’ he said.

He told the reporter that the forum was meant to bring together policymakers, cyber security experts, academics, industry leaders, and practitioners to harness strategies and share insights on achieving cyber security sovereignty.

“The focus is on assessing a nation’s capability to govern, regulate, protect and secure its digital infrastructure, data, technological assets, and cyber-environment.

“These are vital for preserving national security and digital economy, personal data privacy safeguards, and technological dependency,’’Aliyu said.

He emphasised the importance of dialogue and shared expertise in strengthening collective cyber security and ensuring a safer digital future.

Aliyu encouraged participants to take advantage of the forum’s networking opportunities, leveraging their diversity to learn from one another and broaden their knowledge on defending against cyber threats.

‘’The Nigerian Computer Society is committed to creating platforms for IT professionals to share knowledge and stay up-to-date with challenges in the sector,’’ he said.

NCS is umbrella and the premier body of all Computing and Information Technology (IT) professionals, interest groups, and stakeholders in Nigeria.

It’s core mission is to advance the science and practice of computing and information technology in the country.


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ChatGPT-mimicking Cyberthreats Surge 115% in Early 2025, SMBs Increasingly Targeted

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In 2025, nearly 8,500 users from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) globally faced cyberattacks where malicious or unwanted software was disguised as popular online productivity tools, Kaspersky reports.

Based on the unique malicious and unwanted files observed, the most common lures included Zoom and Microsoft Office, with newer AI-based services like ChatGPT and DeepSeek being increasingly exploited by attackers. Kaspersky has released threat analysis and mitigation strategies to help SMBs respond.

Kaspersky analysts explored how frequently malicious and unwanted software are disguised as legitimate applications commonly used by SMBs, using a sample of 12 online productivity apps. In total, Kaspersky observed more than 4,000 unique malicious and unwanted files disguised as popular apps in 2025. With the growing popularity of AI services, cybercriminals are increasingly disguising malware as AI tools.

The number of cyberthreats mimicking ChatGPT increased by 115% in the first four months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching 177 unique malicious and unwanted files. Another popular AI tool, DeepSeek, accounted for 83 files. This large language model launched in 2025 immediately appeared on the list of impersonated tools.

“Interestingly, threat actors are rather picky in choosing an AI tool as bait. For example, no malicious files mimicking Perplexity were observed. The likelihood that an attacker will use a tool as a disguise for malware or other types of unwanted software directly depends on the service’s popularity and hype around it. The more publicity and conversation there is around a tool, the more likely a user will come across a fake package on the Internet.

To be on the safe side, SMB employees – as well as regular users – should exercise caution when looking for software on the Internet or coming across too-good-to-be-true subscription deals. Always check the correct spelling of the website and links in suspicious emails. In many cases these links may turn out to be phishing or a link that downloads malicious or potentially unwanted software,” says Vasily Kolesnikov, security expert at Kaspersky.

Another cybercriminal tactic to look for in 2025 is the growing use of collaboration platform brands to trick users into downloading or launching malware. The number of malicious and unwanted software files disguised as Zoom increased by nearly 13% in 2025, reaching 1,652, while such names as “Microsoft Teams” and “Google Drive” saw increases of 100% and 12%, respectively, with 206 and 132 cases.

This pattern likely reflects the normalisation of remote work and geographically distributed teams, which has made these platforms integral to business operations across industries.

Among the analysed sample, the highest number of files mimicked Zoom, accounting for nearly 41% of all unique files detected. Microsoft Office applications remained frequent targets for impersonation: Outlook and PowerPoint each accounted for 16%, Excel for nearly 12%, while Word and Teams made up 9% and 5%, respectively.

The top threats targeting small and medium businesses in 2025 included downloaders, trojans and adware.

Phishing and spam

Apart from malware threats, Kaspersky continues to observe a wide range of phishing and scam schemes targeting SMBs. Attackers aim to steal login credentials for various services — from delivery platforms to banking systems — or manipulate victims into sending them money through deceptive tactics. One example is a phishing attempt targeting Google Accounts.

Attackers promise potential victims to increase sales by advertising their company on X, with the ultimate goal being to steal their credentials.

Beyond phishing, SMBs are flooded with spam emails. Not surprisingly, AI has also made its way into the spam folder — for example, with offers for automating various business processes.

In general, Kaspersky observes phishing and spam offers crafted to reflect the typical needs of small businesses, promising attractive deals on email marketing or loans, offering services such as reputation management, content creation, or lead generation, and more.

 


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