E-Business
The Value of Broadband Internet
In order for the country of Nigeria to become a significant contributor to the global economy, the connectivity issues that are prevalent in the more remote parts of the country ideally need to be addressed and resolved.
People that have access to pervasive broadbandhttp://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/10719-what-is-needed-for-pervasive-broadband.html are proven to directly influence a faster economic growth but in order for this to happen, the networks that provide the broadband coverage firstly need funding and building.
A broader coverage of networks would provide the general public with faster, widespread access to the Internet which in turn could become a platform for the development and growth of the Nigerian economy.
A Better Quality of Life
Pervasive Internet delivers such things as better quality education, healthcare information and employment opportunities which would enable citizens to improve their standards of living.
In regards to education, having access to the Internet for citizens in more remote locations would allow the potential for high quality, distance learning which would improve the value of students in the employment sector.
Cooperation between Nigerian universities and foreign institutions could also be encouraged, forging essential links to other educational establishments that could also be beneficial to the growth of the economy.
Conversely, highly qualified retired professionals (teachers, doctors, scientists) could impart their knowledge over the Internet to willing students from isolated locations, at no significant cost to themselves.
Similarly for healthcare, professionals can provide the public with information that people in the more remote areas of Nigeria would not previously have had access to, benefitting the healthcare services across the country.
The Need for Investment
Despite the introduction of new broadband cable http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Nigeria-Broadband-and-Internet-Market-Digital-Economy.html networks over the past few years, the coverage tends to be limited to the more densely populated areas of the coastline, with undersea cable networks laid near the coast, whereas the hinterlands must tolerate restricted access while the infrastructure cannot support the extension of the networks.
Furthermore, the price of broadband internet http://www.money.co.uk/broadband.htm has not become more accessible to promote increased usage, as might have been expected, meaning it is still largely out of reach for the greater part of the Nigerian population.
Building such a network would require a huge investment, which is why investors are unwilling to spend in to something that doesn’t have a short-term profit return.
Without the willingness of financial investors to advance the provision of a broader service, and without the stimulation of competition in the marketplace, something which the Nigerian market really needs for prices to be able to be reduced, the prices will remain high and inaccessible to the majority of citizens.
The Vision of the Future
Electronic-commerce and electronic payment schemes are made possible and are encouraged with the provision of accessible, affordable, high speed broadband Internet and with the extension of these networks, this could become available to those who reside in the more remote parts of Nigeria as well.
The Nigerian Communications Commission
Omobola Johnson, Minister for Communications Technology has also promised to help the development of the infrastructure in order to increase the number of Internet users in Nigeria to 70 million by 2015. At the moment, out of 40 million Nigerians with access to the Internet, only around 3% have access to the higher quality broadband, and this 3% tends to be the higher socio-economic groups of citizens.
She also aims to promote investment into skills that are required to power the emerging industry and provide ‘digital havens’, places where the public can go to connect to the global network.
In India, the ICT sector contributes up to 6% of its nation’s GDP, whilst Nigeria’s currently makes up 3.5%. By 2015, this is hoped to be raised up to 5%.
Expansion of the Market
After the arrival of fibre-optic broadband in Nigeria in 2010 and 2012, additional cable networks are expected to be launched in 2013 and 2014 to further provide Internet to remote areas.
Due to this expansion of the market, the price of international broadband internet could be seen to drop by up to 90%, making it much more accessible.
The economy in Nigeria is beginning to rapidly evolve, in turn promoting the application of e-commerce, e-learning, e-health and online banking.
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.
SEC Alerts Public on Silverkuun, Trending Dubious Investment Schemes
Glo, Huawei, Communications Ministry Bring Digital Services to Abuja Village
PalmPay Launches CSR Initiatives to Empower Women, Foster Financial Literacy in Northern Nigeria
Tripoint Travels Hosts Pre-GEC Brunch for Nigerian Delegates Ahead of Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2025
Africa Cross-border Payments Set to Hit $1 trillion by 2035
E-Financial3 days agoFidelity Bank Plc Wins 2025 DBN Innovation Award for MSME Support
E-Business3 days agoNigeria Among Hotspots as Kaspersky Warns of Rising Ransomware Threat in Africa
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria Invests ₦900Bn in 2025 to Boost Network Quality in Lagos & Abuja
E-Business3 days agoNDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres
Telecom3 days agoVitel Wireless Completes Interconnectivity with all Major Telcos in Nigeria
Telecom3 days agoMTN inducted into Brand Africa Hall of Fame
Telecom3 days agoeBusiness Life Girls In ICT: Stakeholders Call For More Action On Girls Participation In ICT
General News3 days agoNigeria Approves $500m for AfDB’s Trust Fund Replenishment over Next 15 Years