As part of its Children’s Day celebration, PalmPay, through its Young Stars initiative, has rewarded 60 outstanding students, inspiring young learners across public schools.

The initiative goes beyond rewarding high-performing students, it is also about building confidence, widening ambition, and reminding children that their future can be bigger than their present circumstances.

For Mohammed Jubril, one of the beneficiaries, the recognition has already changed how he thinks about what is possible.

Inspired by the support he has received, Mohammed shares a bold dream for the future: “I want to become a governor one day so I can help more children like me get access to education and opportunities.”

His words capture the deeper impact of the Young Stars programme. For many of the children recognised. The award is not just a reward for past performance. It is a signal that their efforts matter, their dreams are valid, and their future is worth investing in.

During the engagement sessions at the event, the pupils also excitedly shared their aspirations, speaking with enthusiasm about the careers they hope to pursue in the future. From doctors and teachers to engineers, pilots, and entrepreneurs, the children expressed big dreams and a strong sense of purpose, reflecting how early encouragement and recognition can help shape ambition and confidence.

For many students in public schools, access to educational support often determines not just academic outcomes, but how far they allow themselves to dream. Through the Young Stars Initiative, PalmPay is helping to change that narrative by affirming that excellence deserves recognition, and potential deserves investment.

For Mohammed’s family, the impact is both practical and deeply emotional. His father describes the recognition as a moment of renewed confidence for his son and a reminder that hard work can open doors to real opportunity.

As the initiative continues to reach more pupils across Lagos public schools, it leaves behind a powerful message; when children are supported, they don’t just perform better, they dream bigger.

The Federal Government has received a major boost in its drive to strengthen teacher education and digital learning, as the Government of Japan, through the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), donated ICT equipment and learning materials to 15 teacher training institutions across Nigeria.

Speaking at the official handover ceremony held at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad, described the intervention as a significant contribution to the country’s efforts to improve teacher quality, digital literacy and inclusive education.

She said the donation forms part of a regional initiative launched in 2024 by UNESCO-IICBA, the Government of Japan and the African Union to strengthen teacher training and promote continuous access to safe, quality education for girls in West Africa.

According to the minister, the project, which covers Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Mauritania, aligns with the Federal Ministry of Education’s priorities under the Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of equity, quality education, digital transformation and inclusion.

“Teachers remain the backbone of every education system. No education reform can succeed without well-trained, motivated and digitally empowered teachers,” Ahmad said, noting that the equipment would modernise teacher training institutions and improve access to digital learning resources.

The beneficiaries comprise 15 federal and state colleges of education spread across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, including the Federal College of Education, Kontagora; Federal College of Education, Zaria; Federal College of Education (Technical), Gombe; Federal College of Education, Yola; Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba; Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo.

Others are Federal College of Education (Technical), Umunze; College of Education, Zuba, FCT; Isaac Jasper Boro College of Education; Enugu State College of Education (Technical); Sa’adatu Rimi College of Education, Kano; Adamu Augie College of Education, Argungu; Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto; Adamawa State College of Education, Hong and Taraba State College of Education, Zing.

The donated items include 65 laptop computers, 71 tablets, four desktop computers, five interactive smart boards, 19 all-in-one desktop computers, 14 projectors, 15 printers and 15 backup hard drives.

Ahmad said the facilities would enhance both pre-service and in-service teacher training by promoting innovation, digital competence and learner-centred teaching approaches, while preparing educators for the demands of a technology-driven world.

The event also featured a national consultation on school safety and infrastructure security, with participants discussing strategies for creating safer and more inclusive learning environments.

The minister stressed that safe schools remain critical to achieving quality education, particularly for girls and other vulnerable learners, adding that the ministry would continue to prioritise policies and programmes aimed at strengthening school security.

She further highlighted the ministry’s focus on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), girl-child education, quality assurance, data management and digital transformation as key pillars for improving educational outcomes nationwide.

Ahmad also disclosed plans to implement new interventions aimed at empowering female teachers and school leaders in crisis situations through mobile-based learning platforms, as well as programmes designed to integrate out-of-school children into formal education.

She commended UNESCO-IICBA, the Government of Japan, the African Union and other development partners for supporting teacher education in Nigeria and urged beneficiary institutions to utilise the equipment responsibly to improve learning outcomes and build a more resilient education system.

“The equipment will enhance digital literacy among our pre-service teachers and boost the attainment of education goals in Nigeria,” she said.

In their separate remarks, the Director of the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA), Dr. Quentin Wodon, and the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Japan in Nigeria, Hitoshi Kozaki, reaffirmed their commitment to supporting efforts aimed at improving teacher education and expanding access to quality learning opportunities across Nigeria and the West African region.

They noted that the donation of ICT equipment to the beneficiary colleges of education reflects the shared commitment of UNESCO, the Government of Japan and their partners to strengthening the capacity of teacher training institutions, particularly in the area of digital learning.

According to them, equipping teachers with modern technological skills is critical to improving learning outcomes and ensuring that education systems are responsive to the demands of the 21st century.

According to a recent global report by Kaspersky Security Services, password guessing and valid account misuse rank among the most effective tactics used by cyber criminals in 2025.

This trend reflects a strategic shift, as attackers move away from triggering endpoint protection with noisy malware, in preference of leveraging legitimate access to evade detection.

The ‘Anatomy of a Cyber World’ is an in-depth global report based on data gathered from Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Incident Response (IR), Compromise Assessment and SOC Consulting in 2025. It covers the most common adversary techniques, tools and detection scenarios and highlights the peculiarities of detected incidents.

According to the report, a significant portion of the most frequently monitored attack techniques revolves around credentials and identity management. This analysis, which examines the conversion rates* of various Indicators of Attack (IoA), highlights the following prevalent malicious tactics:

Password guessing – 34.8%. This technique entails attackers systematically trying different passwords until successfully gaining access to an account. It tops the conversion list due to its occurrence in both actual attacks and authorised security assessments, making it a persistent threat in today’s cybersecurity landscape. Organisations who rely on weak or reused passwords continues to enable this age-old strategy.

Local account creation – 34.7%. Once inside a system, attackers frequently create new local accounts to maintain access even if their original foothold is discovered and removed. This technique is frequently observed during security exercises and can be detected — but only with the right telemetry in place, which is often lacking.

Valid account abuse – 34.5%. Instead of deploying malware, attackers log in using stolen or compromised credentials and simply blend in with normal user activity. This makes detection significantly harder, as the access itself appears legitimate. The high conversion rate underscores why compromised credentials remain one of the most dangerous attack vectors.

Account manipulation – 32%. Attackers modify existing accounts to consolidate access such as by activating disabled accounts, altering group memberships, or escalating privileges. This reinforces the broader pattern — rather than introducing new tools, adversaries deepen their control using what is already there.

Network service discovery – 31.2%. Before moving deeper into a network, attackers typically scan for open services and systems they can reach. This reconnaissance step is a strong predictor of what follows: lateral movement and further exploitation. Detecting it early provides security teams a critical window to intervene.

The report ranks attacker techniques by how frequently observed activity ultimately resulted in confirmed malicious incidents. According to Kaspersky experts, while MITRE ATT&CK® catalogs a vast number of adversary techniques, effective detection requires prioritising behaviours with the highest probability of malicious intent while avoiding excessive false positives.

“Threat actors do not always need sophisticated malware to achieve their objectives. In many cases, legitimate administrative tools and compromised accounts remain the fastest and most effective way to move inside an organisation while avoiding detection.

The continued popularity of these techniques shows that organisations need deep visibility into attacker behaviour and the ability to correlate suspicious activity across different stages of an attack.

To address these challenges, companies can enhance their security with our solutions: Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response and Incident Response which cover the entire incident management cycle – from threat detection to continuous protection and remediation,” comments Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations Center at Kaspersky.