E-Business
Worldwide Large Format Printer Market Returned to Growth in 3Q2013

The worldwide large format printer market grew 6.2% year over year with 77.7 thousand units shipped in the third quarter of 2013 (3Q13), according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Large Format Printer Tracker.
This quarter’s market growth marks the first time since the first quarter of 2011 where both units and shipment value achieved year-over-year gains.
IDC quantified the total 3Q13 market value at $802.8 million, an increase of 6.2% year over year.
The overall growth was fueled by solid demand from the two largest geographic markets, the United States and Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan)(APeJ).
The U.S. had year-over-year growth of 16.5% in units and 8.4% in shipment value while APeJ enjoyed a 20.9% gain in units and 8.4% in shipment value.
“Epson was one of the main growth engines in the APeJ market. The password encryption on Epson print heads benefited Epson itself, as well as Roland, Mimaki and Mutoh who OEM from Epson.
The encryption was established in December 2012 and helped to prevent other Chinese brands from using Epson print heads to develop their own machines,” said Phuong Hang, program, director, Worldwide Large Format Printer Tracker.
The technology highlights show that the technical application segment grew 5.7% to 45.9 thousand units shipped, and accounted for 59.1% share of the total LFP market in the third quarter, unchanged from a year ago.
Seven out of eight regional markets showed year-over-year unit growth in this segment with the Middle East & Africa (MEA) leading the pack at 23.8%, followed by the U.S. at 15.4% and Japan at 12.7%.
The graphics application segment also showed a year-over-year gain in 3Q13, increasing 6.9% to 31.8 thousand units and accounting for 40.9% share of the overall market.
The two largest regional markets, APeJ and the U.S., were among the four regional markets that posted year-over-year growth, 19.8% and 18.0%, respectively. The other two regions that expanded year over year were Japan and MEA.
Vendor wise, HP continued as the number one ranked vendor in 3Q13 with worldwide large format printer market share of 39.1% and 30.5 thousand units shipped, which is a -1.4% decline year over year.
The vendor posted year-over-year growth in four regional markets, including APeJ and the U.S., with 15.0% and 13.4%, respectively.
Epson climbed up one spot from last quarter to become the number two ranked vendor. Epson grew 13.5% year over year to 16.6 thousand units shipped, resulting in 21.4% share.
This performance was driven by double-digit year-over-year growth in the U.S. (51.4%), APeJ (34.2%), Japan (22.4%), and MEA (16.8%).
Canon moved down one spot from last quarter to the number three position worldwide. The vendor increased 12.4% year over year to 16.4 thousand units and 21.1% share. Canon had a year-over-year increase in all regions except for Western Europe.
The top three regions in terms of year-over-year growth were Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) at 46.7%, APeJ at 35.5%, and Canada at 17.3%.
Roland strengthened its position as the number four vendor in the worldwide large format printer market with 20.9% year-over-year growth and 2.7 thousand units shipped.
Other than Europe, the vendor posted year-over-year gains in all other regions with MEA being the leader in terms of year-over-year growth at 50.0%, followed by APeJ at 45.7% and Latin America at 45.1%.
Ricoh continued as the number five vendor for the third consecutive quarter with over 2 thousand units shipped and 2.6% share.
The vendor’s shipments increased 22.1% year over year, the best year-over-year performance among the top 5, and posted positive shipment growth in all regions except for Latin America.
All of Ricoh’s top three regional markets expanded year over year including Japan growing at 3.8%, the U.S. at 45.1%, and APeJ at 20.4%.
E-Business
NDPC Probes Suspected Data Breach in Examination Centres

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.
E-Business
Nigeria Among Hotspots as Kaspersky Warns of Rising Ransomware Threat in Africa

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.
E-Business
Nigeria Launches Cybercrime Team with Commonwealth, UK Support

Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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