E-Business
Concerns as States Operate at Outskirts of ICT4D

The federal government has waxed worriedly at the lethargy state governments to the Information and Communications Technology 4 Development (ICT4D) project, the so-called specialized information technology initiative of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) expected to earn some $900 before 2020, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.
As at last count, only three states: Enugu, Niger and Osun states have indicated their interests to use the ICT4D blue print on how to use IT to drive every sector of the economy in order to achieve the nation’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The ICT4D document is aimed at encouraging investment in ICT and it is used as a tool in a wide range of applications and infrastructural planning, fight illiteracy, improve health care delivery, enhance quality of education, boost human capital development, agriculture, national security and law enforcement, governance and the private sector.
Dr. Vincent Olatunji, deputy director, Corporate Services and Research for NITDA, speaking during National IT Forum organized by the Agency at the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) annual conference held in Enugu recently, said that NITDA views an establishment of ICT Agencies in States as the best approach to solve related challenges in those areas.
He said, “We have the national IT Policy, which NITDA is implementing, but what we are trying to do is to drive whatever we have achieved with the national IT policy at the federal level and bring it down to the state level. Over 60 per cent of Nigerians live in the rural area, and our plan is to drive IT policy from the federal level to state level and local government level.”
According to NITDA, building ICT infrastructure by States without relevant agencies on ground is a step in the wrong direction, hence sustaining and inundating of the gestures will become unattainable.
For instance, the slow pace in the implementation of the National IT Policy at the State level forced NITDA, in 2013, to write the 36 States of the federation, informing them of its intention to further drive the IT policy across states and local government.
“We have decided to work with three states for our pilot scheme, Enugu, Osun and Niger States, because they showed interests to collaborate with NITDA in driving the National IT Policy beyond the federal level.
On his part, Pius Bakare, NITDA policy consultant, said that, establishing such agency forms part of strategies States should adopt to get their focus right.
He said, States Government must not shy away from defining their ICT drive as an enabler or as a sector.
Bakare said, “States need to make a basic decision with respect to their ICT policies: do they try to grow their own ICT sector to manufacture and market ICT products; which offers economic benefit that in the long term can be used for social development? Or do they use ICTs to help progress on their development goals (poverty reduction, education, health etc.) in the short term.
E-Business
Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.
Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.
However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.
These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.
In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.
This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.
They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.
“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.
E-Business
NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.
The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.
The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.
With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.
This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.
Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.
These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.
Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.
The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.
Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.
E-Business
FG Shifting Focus to “Meaningful Connectivity” to Drive Inclusion – Minister

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.

Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy
The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.
He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.
Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.
He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.
“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.
According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.
“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.
Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.
Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.
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