Telecom
Sophos Report Shows 66% Organizations in Nigeria Report Increase in Phishing Attacks
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, on Tuesday announced the findings of its global survey, “Phishing Insights 2021,” which reveals that phishing attacks targeting organizations ramped up considerably during the pandemic, as millions of employees working from home became a prime target for cybercriminals.
The majority (66%) of IT teams in Nigeria said the number of phishing emails targeting their employees increased during 2020.
“Phishing has been around for over 25 years and remains an effective cyberattack technique. One of the reasons for its success is its ability to continuously evolve and diversify, tailoring attacks to topical issues or concerns, such as the pandemic, and playing on human emotions and trust,” said Chester Wisniewski, principal research scientist at Sophos.
“It can be tempting for organizations to see phishing attacks as a relatively low-level threat, but that underestimates their power.
“Phishing is often the first step in a complex, multi-stage attack. According to Sophos Rapid Response, attackers frequently use phishing emails to trick users into installing malware or sharing credentials that provide access to the corporate network.”
The findings also reveal that there is a lack of common understanding about the definition of phishing.
For instance, 55% of IT teams in Nigeria associate phishing with emails that falsely claim to be from a legitimate organization, and which are usually combined with a threat or request for information. Forty-five percent consider Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks to be phishing, and more than one-third (34%) think threadjacking – when attackers insert themselves into a legitimate email thread as part of an attack – is phishing.
The good news is that most organizations in Nigeria (86%) have implemented cybersecurity awareness programs to combat phishing.
Respondents said they use computer-based training programs (55%), human-led training programs (39%), and phishing simulations (36%).
“The ideal would be to prevent phishing emails from ever reaching their intended recipient,” said Wisniewski.
“Effective email security solutions can go a long way towards achieving this, but this should be complemented by alert and primed employees who are able to spot and report suspicious messages before they get any further.”
ST Team has partnered with Proxy Coding School to launch the ST Tech Academy, a free training programme aimed at empowering individuals with cutting-edge tech skills.
The academy, which begins its first cohort on March 10, will provide training in full-stack web development, cybersecurity, Web3, Python, UI/UX, graphics, and more.
According to Mr.Trust Otorudo, Regional Head of Smart Treasures in Lagos, the programme is designed to bridge the gap in tech education and provide opportunities for individuals to acquire in-demand skills.
“We are excited to partner with Proxy Coding School to launch the ST Tech Academy.
“Our goal is to empower individuals with the skills they need to succeed in the tech industry, and we believe that this partnership will help us achieve that goal.”
The programme is open to ST Team members from different skill levels and background, and admission is free.
The ST Team has also announced plans to provide living wages stipends to certain categories of individuals, including teachers, public officials, the disabled, widows, and orphans, starting from April.
With the launch of the ST Tech Academy, the ST Team and Proxy Coding School are poised to make a significant impact in the tech education space in Nigeria.
Hotspot, Nigerian last-mile connectivity and tower operator, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a consortium led by Clear Blue Technologies, solar-power company to deploy 312 solar powered mobile sites across Nigeria.
Under the deal signed earlier this week at Mobile World Congress 2025, the sites will feature Clear Blue’s Illumience Smart Power solar solution designed for telecoms infrastructure.
The Clear Blue consortium also includes Empower New Energy, which provides clean energy project financing across Africa, and Netis, which specialises in operating and managing telecom infrastructure and will the installation, operations, and maintenance services for the project.
Miriam Tuerk, CEO, Clear Blue, said the consortium has the expert skills and capabilities to quickly design, build and operate the network, solar power and tower sites.
“As everyone active in the telecom market in Africa is aware, it is a difficult operating environment with challenging TCO targets. And yet, it is probably the largest untapped telecom market in the world with significant growth potential”, said, Morenikeji Aniye, CEO, Hotspot.
“Clear Blue brings an innovative technology and service capability which, together with an innovative business model and structure, enables us to deploy and operate these sites while meeting stringent service and TCO targets.”
Clear Blue noted that the deal is subject to final contract negotiations and signatures.
Assuming everything goes according to plan, Hotspot will roll out the solar-powered sites at the end of this year.
Technology company, Globacom, has been experiencing substantial increase in the adoption of its Bulk Data services by enterprise clients. This surge reinforces the appeal of Glo’s innovative data solution among corporate organizations, schools, and tertiary institutions.
Glo’s Bulk Data offering is a user-friendly self-service portal that enables enterprise customers to gift data to other customers. This feature allows sponsors to allocate specific data amounts for free navigation of mobile apps or websites, with the sponsor covering the costs.
The service is particularly beneficial for educational institutions, which can purchase the Schools’ Bucket Data plan for students’ academic usage, valid for 90 days.
The Gifted Data Plan on its part, is available for a 30 days validity and offers flexibility, allowing sponsors to gift data to multiple Glo subscribers in various sizes, ranging from 200MB to 10GB, depending on the Pack the Gifting customer has subscribed to.
Sponsors can also customize SMS notifications to beneficiaries, setting Glo’s product apart from others in the market. Beneficiaries can easily check their balance by dialing *127*0# on their devices.
Glo’s Bulk Data service has become an attractive solution for enterprise clients seeking efficient data management, thanks to its flexibility, customization options, and user-friendly features.
The Bulk Data service is designed specifically for bulk data buyers, including corporate entities, schools, and tertiary institutions.
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