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Vericore Technologies Unveils WizitUp™ Digital Learning Resources for Schools, Students

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Felix Imafidon, Vericore Technologies’ Chief Operating Officer at the WizitUp product launch.
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Vericore Technologies Ltd, an indigenous technology firm has launched its education technology solution which aims to redefine Africa’s future with digital education.

The products which have been two years in development were presented to the public at the Lagos International Trade Fair Business-to-Business Exhibition which took place recently in Lagos.

Speaking at the unveiling of the products, Mr Felix Imafidon, chief operations officer of Vericore Technologies described the products as “innovative approach that blends learning and fun for today’s students, and uses different methodologies to meet the need of all students, irrespective of their learning styles.

The solution which has been branded Wizitup™, was designed and developed from research conducted by the company on teaching and learning patterns of teachers and students respectively.

Mr Imafidon emphasized that the solution was created to ensure that educators and their students get credible and exciting teaching and learning resources within and outside the classroom.

He further states that “Wizitup™ transforms education with the use of digital tools, for self learning, teaching in the classroom, and enabling smart schools.”

According to him, “students nowadays are better clued about technology than their parents and teachers, and use it on a regular basis.  A large part of young people’s lifestyle is engrossed in technology and so it is only smart to use the reality of these students as part of their teaching and learning, else learning will remain difficult as it is.”

A cardinal part of the solutions is the WizitUp™ Learn-on-the-go tablets, referred to as “WizPad.”

This, according to the creators, “allows students to learn at their own pace using ready-made contents in the form of cartoons, games, illustrated textbooks, and practice tests.” The contents have been developed in line with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) curriculum and it is currently available for students in primary schools.

The Vericore Technologies educational solutions does not leave out the classrooms where, according to the creators “organised teaching and learning take place”.

The teachers’ resources and teaching aids called ‘In-Classroom Solution’ comes to the rescue for teachers and school administrators. These resources include Songs and Rhymes, Animations, Simulations, Illustrations, e-Books and Lesson Plans. Teachers can use these tools to teach and engage their students in the classrooms, making lessons fun, much more effective and exciting. 

When asked of the reason behind the choice of name “WizitUp”, Mr Felix Imafidon explained that “the name is a reflexion of the hopes and faith the creator of the solution have in children everywhere. Every child has the potential to excel and only require the right environment and opportunities. The name WizitUp was crafted from three words: ‘wiz it up’ meaning to bring out the genius in you.”

Delivering his pitch at the WizitUp product unveiling, he emphasised that students nowadays are more clued about technology than their parents and teachers, and use it on a regular basis.

Adding that a large part of young people’s lifestyle is engrossed in technological developments and so it makes sense to use the reality of these students as part of teaching and learning.

There was a lot of traffic at the Vericore Technologies’ exhibition booth during the WizitUp unveiling as parents and education stakeholders thronged the exhibition and  were especially excited about WizitUp’s Learn-on-the-go tablets for primary school – ‘WizPad’ as this is a first of its kind in this part of the world, having curriculum based educational cartoons, games, simulations and assessments all made in Nigeria for kids in Nigeria.

Excited parents were seen buying their copies of the WizPad at the exhibition as  the solutions kept generating so much interest among the audience, and some others pre-ordered the product for their primary school kids and relations.

Another highpoint of the public presentation was the introduction of the WizitUp SIAS (School Information and Administrative System). WizitUp SIAS is a combination of learning management and school management systems.

Its functions include, administrative tool for schools, online learning for students, Teachers’ performance monitoring, and Communication platform interconnecting students, teachers, and parents, online payment for school fees and more. Corporate organisations are not left out in Vericore’s learning solution periscope as the new product range includes a Learning Management System (LMS) for human resource and allied training needs. 

The WizitUp Corporate LMS is a digital innovation that replaces location-based trainings with online, real-time teaching and learning experience with enhanced content presentation and engagement functionalities.

Corporate organizations can now have beautiful presentations with better engagement, and increased participation in their training programs.

WizitUp Corporate LMS also features online payment and more. WizitUp Corporate LMS is a better training partner for training organizations. WizitUp solutions are available on www.wizitup.com.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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Cyberattacks: ‘56 Percent of Cases Stem from Existing Logins

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A new report by Sophos, ybersecurity firm, has said that attackers primarily gained initial network access—56 per cent of all MDR and IR cases—by exploiting external remote services like firewalls and VPNs using valid credentials.

Cyberattacks: ‘56 Percent of Cases Stem from Existing Logins

The 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report details attacker behavior and techniques from over 400 Managed Detection and Response [MDR] and Incident Response [IR] cases in 2024.

According to the report, the combination of external remote services and valid accounts align with the top root causes of attacks.

For the second year in row, compromised credentials were the number one root cause of attacks [41% of cases]. This was followed by exploited vulnerabilities [21.79%] and brute force attacks [21.07%].

When analysing MDR and IR investigations, the Sophos X-Ops team looked specifically at ransomware, data exfiltration, and data extortion cases to identify how fast attackers progressed through the stages of an attack within an organisation.

In those three types of cases, the median time between the start of an attack and exfiltration was only 72.98 hours [3.04 days]. Furthermore, there was only a median of 2.7 hours from exfiltration to attack detection.

“Passive security is no longer enough. While prevention is essential, rapid response is critical. Organisations must actively monitor networks and act swiftly against observed telemetry.

Coordinated attacks by motivated adversaries require a coordinated defense. “For many organisations, that means combining business-specific knowledge with expert-led detection and response.

Our report confirms that organizations with proactive monitoring detect attacks faster and experience better outcomes,” said John Shier, field CISO.

The 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report further reveals that attackers can move quickly, with a median of just 11 hours between initial access and a breach attempt on Active Directory, a critical asset in Windows environments.

Akira emerged as the most prevalent ransomware group in 2024, followed by Fog and LockBit, the latter still active despite a major takedown.

Attack detection has improved overall, with dwell time—the time attackers remain undetected—dropping from four days to just two, thanks largely to the inclusion of MDR (Managed Detection and Response) cases.

Dwell time varied depending on the type of case: it held steady at 4 days for ransomware and 11.5 days for non-ransomware cases in incident response (IR) investigations.

In contrast, MDR cases showed much faster response times—3 days for ransomware and just 1 day for non-ransom – ware attacks.

The report also highlights that 83% of ransomware deployments occurred outside local business hours, showing attackers favor overnight activity.

Additionally, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) was exploited in 84% of cases, making it the most commonly abused Microsoft tool.

To strengthen their cybersecurity posture, Sophos advises organizations to take several key steps.

First, they should close any exposed Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) ports and implement phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) wherever feasible to reduce unauthorized access risks.

Additionally, companies should prioritize timely patching of vulnerable systems, especially those exposed to the internet. Deploying Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) or Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solutions with 24/7 monitoring is crucial.

Finally, having a well-defined incident response plan—and regularly testing it through simulations or tabletop exercises—can greatly improve preparedness for potential attacks.


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Kaspersky Presents Insight on 14% Increase in Spyware Attacks on Businesses in Africa @ GITEX Africa

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As part of the company’s participation at the GITEX Africa conference, taking place in Morocco on 14-16 April 2025, Kaspersky will address the dynamics for cyberthreats in the African region as per the latest anonymised data from the Kaspersky Security Network (KSN)¹.

From 2023 to 2024 businesses in Africa were targeted by web threats, on-device threats, and attacks aiming to steal data, including spyware and password stealers.

Phishing and ransomware continue to be significant threats in the region, with 66 million phishing link clicks seen by Kaspersky in the African region in 2024, including over 14.8 million phishing link clicks by corporate users.

Web-based threats, or online threats, are a category of cybersecurity risks that may cause an undesirable event or action affecting users browsing the Internet.

According to Kaspersky data, there were 131 580 587 web threats detected in 2024 in the African region, including almost 20 million attack attempts in Kenya, almost 17 million in South Africa, and 12.6 million in Morocco. Businesses were targeted by web threats more often in 2024 than in 2023, with threat detections increasing by 1.2%.

Local (on device) threats include malware that is spread via removable USB drives, CDs and DVDs, or that initially makes way onto the computer in non-open form (for example, programs in complex installers, encrypted files, etc.).

According to Kaspersky telemetry, local (on device) threat detections in organisations in the African region in 2024 increased by 4% compared to 2023. Among the countries that saw growth in local threats detected in organisations were Nigeria (169% increase), Ethiopia (86%), South Africa (32%), Senegal (11%), and Morocco (9%).

There has been a spike of threats related to data theft. According to Kaspersky data, there was a 14% growth in spyware attack detections on businesses in the African region from 2023 to 2024.

Spyware is secretly installed on a user’s computer to monitor their actions and collect their data. Apart from that, there has been a 26% increase in password stealer detections. Password stealers are a type of malware designed to harvest login credentials and other sensitive data.

“Our statistics show an increase in attack detections for several types of cyberthreats, and the factors driving these increases are multifaceted. In the B2B sector, the continuing shift toward hybrid work models and the rush to digitise operations — often outpacing cybersecurity investments — may leave businesses in Africa exposed to advanced persistent threats.

In the B2C space, the explosion of digital financial services, coupled with low digital literacy rates, makes individuals prime targets for opportunistic attacks,” comments Maher Yamout, Lead Cybersecurity Researcher with Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team.

“Organisations in Africa should prioritise a unified approach by enhancing collaboration, investing in specialised cybersecurity training, and promoting digital literacy to effectively combat the rising tide of cybercrime. Initiatives like the African Cyber Surge operation and targeted educational programs can serve as blueprints for building a resilient digital ecosystem across the continent.”


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Africa Plans to Establish a $60Bn AI Fund

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A $60 billion Africa AI Fund is set to be established, leveraging public, private, and philanthropic capital. The goal is to build a secure, inclusive, and competitive African AI economy through foundational and catalytic investment, according to a declaration made at the recent Global AI Summit on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda.

The declaration seeks to leverage the potential of AI to drive innovation and competitiveness to advance Africa’s economies, industries, and societies. Second, to position Africa as a global leader in ethical, trustworthy, and inclusive AI adoption.

The declaration also seeks to foster the sustainable and responsible design, development, deployment, use, and governance of AI technologies in Africa.

The memorandum was facilitated by Qhala, Smart Africa, Rwanda’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and supported by the Gates Foundation.

Qhala is an AI enabler dedicated to driving innovation and digital transformation across Africa.

In a statement, Qhala said the declaration outlines shared commitment among African nations to align national strategies with continental goals, safeguard data sovereignty, build digital infrastructure, and foster a sustainable AI innovation ecosystem.

The organisation went on to say Africa’s AI landscape is changing at a fast pace and it is projected to contribute $2.9 trillion to the African economy by 2030.

Shikoh Gitau, CEO of Qhala, said: “This declaration is timely, as Africa’s AI ecosystem is rapidly evolving but remains fragmented and underfunded. This will ensure that Africa takes its place in a leadership role in global AI development.”

Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, added: “AI is not just technology to us, it’s an African arrow that, when thrown with the right ethical frameworks and inclusive policies, can pierce the way to African digital prosperity and resilience for the benefit of every citizen.”


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