E-Business
The Importance of Security Operations Centers to Contemporary Organizations
As organizations grow more dependent on IT solutions, they have also become potential subjects of cyber threats. These threats vary in terms of the risk they portend for their targets; the more lethal ones could inflict costly damage on their victims.
Businesses, public sector concerns, and other institutions have responded by taking proactive measures to prevent these threats from being actualized. In some cases, the creation of a Security Operations Center sits at the core of their strategy.
What Is a Security Operations Center?
A Security Operations Center (SOC) is a unit that’s built to tackle the security issues of an organization. It consists of the personnel, technologies, and processes that are required to maintain the organization’s security status.
The personnel at a Security Operations Center include members of the IT team who are adequately skilled at identifying and dealing with threats. The SOC’s processes involve monitoring, detecting, analyzing, and responding to threats.
Technologies used at a SOC are built to scour networks, servers, endpoints, websites, and databases for signs that such systems have been compromised. They also include tools that help with reporting such incidents.
In other words, the SOC serves as a point at which events logged throughout an institution are monitored. This setup works through the data and determines whether there are threats, and how to defend the organization against such threats where they exist.
The Functions of a Security Operations Center
As has already been hinted, a Security Operations Center needs to have visibility into the various aspects of the assets it is supposed to protect. It should also track the networked interaction between these assets, including software, endpoints, and servers.
Also part of the SOC’s mandate is preparation for possible attacks. To do this successfully, teams within the SOC will have to keep tabs on the latest developments in cybersecurity, such as emerging threats and best practices for defending systems against them. Vulnerabilities should be patched, firewalls updated, and applications secured.
Monitoring systems with tools such as Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) is standard practice for SOCs. The EDR continuously collects and analyzes activity data from endpoints throughout the organization, and provides automated responses to perceived irregularities within these data that may signal an imminent attack. SIEM similarly gives SOC personnel insights into activities in their IT environment.
In addition to these, the Security Operations Center also ranks security alerts, discerns genuine risks from false positives, responds to threats (by shutting down or isolating compromised endpoints, etc.), and carries out recovery and remediation following an attack.
The Structure of a Security Operations Center
Given its various duties, the SOC is ideally staffed with multiple IT security professionals, each playing a specific role within the setup.
A manager, who leads the team, should coordinate and oversee the processes ongoing within the SOC. They should also be able to fill any of the roles there. An analyst collects and analyzes past data or data generated after a breach has occurred.
Another role, the investigator, involves assessing a breach and answering questions about how and why the event occurred. They may also take on the role of the incidence responder, who takes action to minimize the impact of breaches.
One person could play multiple roles; it all depends on how big the organization affected is.
The structure of the SOC should be documented, with each role defined, and questions around responsibility and collaboration answered. Security processes that ought to be defined include monitoring, alerting, escalation, investigation, incident logging, compliance monitoring, and reporting.
Benefits of a Security Operations Center
An immediately perceivable benefit of the SOC is that knowledge is centralized. Personnel at the SOC gain a bird’s eye view of their organization’s networks and are better able to spot vulnerabilities. This setup lets them share vital information so that their work is more coordinated and ultimately effective.
This approach to security may reduce running costs as well. With the cybersecurity team and infrastructure in one location, resources are concentrated in one place at a given time. Because they are in a single location, organizations don’t have to spend more to maintain various offices across different locations.
Centralization may also help improve collaboration between members of the IT security team. They can leverage each other’s expertise and experience, and develop solutions that help their parent company in many ways.
With greater team collaboration comes improved response times. The use of advanced tools for threat detection and monitoring strengthens this benefit even more. With proactive network and endpoint monitoring tools, it’s even possible to protect against cyber threats before they materialize.
Finally, there’s the round-the-clock protection that SOC affords. Because attacks aren’t limited to working hours during weekdays, SOCs are built to monitor for potential vulnerabilities every hour of every day.
An Option Worth Considering: Managed Security Operations Center
Not all businesses are able to set up a functional SOC. The expertise, experience, tools, and space required to run it may constitute a drain on resources, besides forcing the business to take on additional tasks to its core operations.
Managed SOCs are a solution to this problem. Cybersecurity firms often offer this as a service to their client organizations. This means that businesses don’t need to have a large department dealing with security issues. Signing up with a reputable cybersecurity firm will allow them to have a SOC with that firm, and focus on their core operations.
Layer3 can help you manage your company’s IT security. We do this by leveraging the expertise and experience of our cybersecurity experts, and our knowledge of the present and emerging risks that enterprises face in today’s world. These, combined with our advanced threat detection and security intelligence tools and systems, will take care of the things you would typically assign to an in-house SOC. This guarantees cost savings for your organization and lets you devote more time and resources to your principal operations.
If you would like to learn more about our IT security service offerings, you can get in touch with us here.
The federal government, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is building a digital registrar that will identify farmers, their farmlands, type of soil and the crops they grow for targeted services.
The information and the National Identification Number (NIN) will be integrated into a multipurpose identity card that farmers can use to access financial services, inputs and other forms of government assistance.
The digitisation is expected to harmonise farmers’ data across all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking at the national launch of the Policy Dialogue Initiative on the National Digital Farmers Registry (NDFR) recently in Abuja, Dr Marcus Ogunbiyi, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), said the new system would address the issue of portfolio farmers, whom he described as “farmers who have no farm.”
“We are going to register farmers and their farms. Not only that, farmers and the type of crop they grow, farmers and the locality they are, the type of soil they have on their farms. There is no farm that will not have a farmer. But there are many farmers who do not have farms. This is an encompassing package.
“When we register these farmers, we are going to provide a physical and digital card for them. With the card, many things can be done by the farmers. It can be used as a means of identification, an asset to some gateway – just anything. It is going to have a handshake with the database of the country, such that with that particular card, the farmer can enter any place and get things done. He or she can redeem inputs and even get a loan, depending on the financial entity,” Ogunbiyi explained.
He said that to accomplish this, the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has taken decisive steps to transform their approach to farmer data management, adding, “Chief among these is our strategic partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to implement a far-reaching farmer registration and database project. At the heart of this initiative is the integration of the NIN, which ensures that every Nigerian farmer is uniquely identified and seamlessly integrated into a national agricultural system.”
Mrs Dede Ahoefa Ekoue, country director/representative of the IFAD in Nigeria, said the United Nations (UN) organisation was proud to be part of the initiative on the National Digital Farmer Registry in Nigeria.
“Our role is to convene all the partners, development partners from the public sector, private sector and the international community to put our resources together to support the effort of the government in establishing and enabling a digital farmer registry for the country,” she said.
Mrs Ekoue said that although there were previous efforts to have a national database of farmers, it had the issues of fragmentation and sustainability.
“The government is now providing us with a sense of direction and matching orders to all the actors to work together. This is what we are doing today with several partners, including the African Development Bank, FAO, the World Bank, the EU, the Islamic Development Bank and UK. Also, what is very key is farmers’ organisations because it is about them, it is for them, it must be with them,” she added.
The country director said the IFAD was happy to bring together the private sector and different ministries, departments and agencies, adding, “It will be a game changer for having a strong, updated and sustainable national digital farmer registry.”
Dr Lekan Tobe, the country director of Heifer International in Nigeria, in his remarks at the official launch of the Policy Dialogue Initiative on the National Digital Farmer Registry, emphasised the critical role of partnership and data in transforming Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
He said that this initiative, born from recommendations of previous policy dialogues organised in collaboration with the federal government, aimed to scale up innovative digital technology to enhance food systems across the country.
Dyna.Ai, a global leader in AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS), has launched its operations in Nigeria with an exclusive closed-door ‘Nigeria Dyna Day’ event in Lagos, which saw the introduction and orientation of its suite of AI-powered products and solutions to Nigeria’s emerging financial ecosystem.
The event, tagged ‘Nigeria Dyna Day’ and themed “AI Unleashed: Revolutionising Nigeria’s Financial Future,” brought together leading voices from the country’s AI, financial, fintech, telecom, and other key sectors, including representatives from government agencies and major enterprises.
In his opening remarks, Tomas Skoumal, chairman and co-president of Dyna.Ai, emphasized the strategic importance of Nigeria and the broader African market, stating, “For us, it makes sense to start in Nigeria.
There is no bigger country in Africa—this is where the momentum is.” He noted that Africa is no longer just “the future,” but is actively transforming today, driven by rapid digitalization and fintech innovation.
“This is the perfect time to be here,” he added, highlighting that Dyna.Ai sees technology as a vital bridge to financial inclusion and long-term growth across the region.
Skoumal introduced Dyna.Ai’s advanced Agentic AI solutions, including its proprietary Agent Studio and industry-specific language models, designed to power intelligent automation across customer service, marketing, collections, HR and more.
He also underscored the company’s long-term ambition to invest in local talent, stating, “We’re not just here to sell a product—we’re here to build infrastructure, create local jobs, and scale innovation from Nigeria to the rest of Africa.”
Dyna.Ai also showcased its advanced AI technologies at the event, including AvatarGPT, an AI digital human delivering interactive experiences; VoiceGPT, a voice agent featuring authentic local accents for seamless communication in Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo; along with live demonstrations showing how these innovations empower customer engagement and employee experience.
Delivering the keynote address at the event, Tokoni Peter Igoin, Special Assistant to the President on ICT Development and Digital Innovation, underscored the Federal Government’s vision for a secure and forward-thinking digital ecosystem.
“The government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is fully committed to responsible innovation. Our approach to AI and financial technology is rooted in a positive framework. It encourages creativity while ensuring transparency, data protection, and digital security”, he said
Also in his remarks, Olatunbosun Alake, Lagos State Commissioner of Innovation, Science and Technology, gave insights from the government/regulatory perspective.
He announced that the Lagos State government is also taking steps towards the wide adoption and regulation of artificial intelligence in the state with the planned release of the first AI guidelines for the deployment and management of AI in the coming weeks.
A new global survey from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) reveals that 52% of marketing leaders believe generic top-level domains (gTLDs – the three characters or more that come after the dot in a URL) have strong potential for enhancing brand presence online; however, a knowledge gap is preventing many brands from taking advantage of the opportunities that a gTLD can bring.
The research surveyed over 2,000 marketing leaders across eight countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, U.K., and U.S.) with the purpose of creating a picture of the evolving digital marketing landscape and understanding the levels of awareness around gTLDs.
It comes as ICANN prepares to open the next application window for new gTLDs in April 2026 the New gTLD Program: Next Round – the first opportunity in more than a decade for organizations to apply to operate their own gTLD.
Top-level domains are the letters found at the end of an Internet address (with gTLDs including .charity, .menu, .paris and .ceo). Brands can apply to run their own gTLD as a way to indicate the purpose of their organization or to clearly mark a website as being related to their brand.
The research shows that increasing brand awareness and visibility is the top priority for marketing leaders (54%) and that over half believe that gTLDs have strong potential for enhancing brand presence online.
However, the research also shows that almost a third (32%) of marketing leaders surveyed are unfamiliar with gTLDs, which suggests that operating a new gTLD may be a strategic opportunity that many organizations are currently overlooking.
Key findings from the research include:
- After defining a gTLD, 92% of marketing leaders responded that they could see the potential benefits to gTLDs, with enhanced brand differentiation (46%), improved customer trust (45%), better control over online presence (44%), and improved SEO (44%) topping the list.
- 19% of marketing leaders work for organizations that have previously applied for a gTLD.
- Cost concerns (31%), knowledge gaps (27%), and insufficient resources (24%) were identified as the main barriers to application.
- The research revealed notable regional variations, with Nigerian (74%) and Indian (61%) marketing leaders showing the strongest belief in gTLDs’ potential for branding and online presence. In contrast, marketers in China expressed more mixed views, with 50% seeing strong potential but 49% considering gTLDs an unnecessary investment with unclear Return On Investment.
The findings come at a time when marketing leaders are facing significant challenges in standing out from competitors (53%), attracting and engaging the right audience (52%), and keeping pace with digital trends (47%).
A new gTLD can be an innovative tool for commerce and communication. They allow businesses in specific countries, sectors, or niche markets to create an exclusive, descriptive, and memorable label on the Internet.
An entity operating a gTLD can provide its users and customers with an extra measure of confidence in its security and legitimacy online. This can be valuable in today’s environment, where users often don’t know whether they can trust the source on the Internet.
Theresa Swinehart, SVP, Global Domains & Strategy said: “The New gTLD Program: Next Round presents an opportunity for businesses, communities, governments, and others to apply to operate their own secure space online, tailored to fit their organization, community, culture, language, and customer interests.
Now is also the moment for brands to consider applying for a gTLD, and this research tells us there is still a lack of awareness. ICANN can help provide information and raise awareness of the Next Round and the opportunity it presents for global communities, organizations, and businesses, including brands.”
To help address the knowledge gap, ICANN is developing resources to help organizations understand the application process and potential opportunities for gTLDs ahead of the 2026 application window. ICANN also offers the Applicant Support Program (ASP), which provides financial and non-financial assistance to eligible applicants.
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