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Vodacom Business Reaffirms Commitment to Providing Cloud Services

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Guy Clarke, MD, Vodacom Business Nigeria
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Nkosi Kumalo, executive head, Cloud and Hosted Services, Vodacom Business Nigeria, has said that Vodacom Business cloud services offers organization solutions and capabilities which brings about desired growth in business.

Kumalo stated this in an interaction with Chief Information Officers of various organizations at the just concluded NigeriaCom held in Lagos.

He stated that cloud is real and something any CIO should trust, he listed some of the business value of cloud to include innovation, business transformation, improve reliability and lower TCO, adding that about 50 percent of businesses in Africa are presently using cloud.

He noted that Vodacom Nigeria has invested in data center capacity and capability. “We offer a network which is robust, leveraging partners’ from the Rack Centre point of view in terms of the premises we are using to offer managed cloud and hosting services. Therefore, we are offering infrastructure as-a-service. That means the CIOs do not need to buy servers, configure and manage it, they can come to Vodacom and rent a server and basically, we will sign service level agreement that says, this server will always be up, whenever it is down, we will give you an alternate platform.

This will entail business continuity and basically, you will pay for just what you use, in terms of infrastructure. So, in today’s tough times, businesses are either growing or shrinking; but you wouldn’t want to have a server that may depreciate in few years, because you do not know what is going to happen next year. So, the intention here is to bring a solution that will grow businesses”.

Kumola however explained that Vodacom’s network connectivity enables things like machine-to-machine (M2M), pull of collaborations among platforms that come with exchange, share-point and links for unified and collaboration suite.

“We are the only partner today that has been able to take connectivity with the services I have just mentioned, on-top of the devices, coupled with the service level agreement to support and give our partners end-to-end IT service. To others, users will have to go and find connectivity agreement and look for someone to help you with the integration, data center services, but Vodacom offers a stroke-type of solution,” he said.

According to him, ‘we are not selling server or rack, rather solution for the CIOs to deliver in line with the business requirements. Also, we are enabling businesses like the insurance industry. They are looking for ways to make money. During festive periods, accidents get very high and people die on the roads. Thus, insurance industry is trying to forecast, how many dead drivers they have in their databases, so they can be able to quantify how many potential accidents. In South Africa, for instance, drivers are assessed and meant to pay for insurance based on the findings on their driving patterns. If you are always on the road, you are meant to pay different amount from someone that drives once in a while. That was able to be monitored with a SIM card fixed in the car.’

He assured CIOs at the forum that Vodacom data centre has been certified as Tier 111 Data centre by an independent body.

“So, with the Tier 111 data centre certification, it means that it can never go down. We have built it for resilience and high availability and ensured that if the primary site goes down, we have the ability to provide resilience in terms of power, storage, capacity and availability for a network; that is from the services point of view. So, we invited experts to assess how we built the centre and they said that we are at par with the rest of the world. The Tier 111 certification is for the datacenter in Nigeria”.

 


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E-Business

CBN Affirms Alpha Morgan Bank’s Capitalisation

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has affirmed the capitalisation of Alpha Morgan Bank, marking an important milestone in the bank’s growth journey and reinforcing its commitment to building a strong, resilient, and future-ready financial institution.

This affirmation reflects the bank’s adherence to regulatory requirements and its strategic focus on strengthening its capital base to support sustainable growth, innovation and improved service delivery to customers.

With this milestone, Alpha Morgan Bank is well positioned to continue expanding its footprint with its 14 approved branches across different states, while deepening inclusivity and enhancing the range of banking solutions available to individuals, businesses, and institutional clients nationwide.

Commenting on the development, the Managing Director of Alpha Morgan Bank, Mr. Ade Buraimo, expressed the readiness of the bank in ensuring compliance with regulatory requirement, good governance framework while delivering satisfying banking along the long-term vision of the bank to become the best bank to work and strong financial institution to reckon with.

He said: “Capitalisation is more than a regulatory requirement; it is an opportunity to strengthen the institution for the future. The affirmation of Alpha Morgan Bank capitalisation reflects the work we have done to build a solid capital foundation that allows us to support businesses more effectively, expand financial access and continue delivering the level of service our customers expect.’’

According to him, Alpha Morgan Bank remains committed to maintaining strong corporate governance standards, sound risk management practices, and prudent financial management as it continues to support economic development and create long-term value for stakeholders.

“As Alpha Morgan Bank enters the next phase of its journey, the institution will continue to scale its operation, invest in technology, expand its branch network and digital banking presence, whilst delivering reliable and satisfying banking experiences to its growing customer base,” Buraimo added.


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Police Says Victims Enable Cyber Attacks Out of Ignorance

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Mr Uche Ifeanyi, commissioner of Police in charge of the Nigeria Police Force National Cyber Crime Centre (NPF-NCCC),  said on Friday that most cyber attacks occur because victims act out of ignorance.

Police Says Victims Enable Cyber Attacks Out of Ignorance

He spoke in Abuja at the opening of an online cybercrime awareness campaign themed “Odogwu No Dey Hide Him Face,” organised to educate and empower communities about online safety and cyber hygiene.

“Studies reveal that the majority of cyber attacks are initiated or enabled by victims due to lack of knowledge.

“Personal information is invaluable and must be protected at all times.

“Just as we maintain physical health, we must also maintain a healthy digital lifestyle,” he added, stressing that simple cyber hygiene practices could greatly reduce the risk of becoming a victim.

He urged the public not to disclose confidential information to unauthorised persons and to use strong, unique passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and apply security safeguards on digital devices.

“Keep personal information private, avoid suspicious links, and regularly update software or system patches,” he said, adding that antivirus programmes and firewalls were essential for online safety.

Ifeanyi warned against falling for “free gifts” online.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is fraud,” he said, advising caution with urgent or suspicious messages.

He also urged internet users to verify information before sharing to avoid spreading fake news, emphasising that cybercriminals could exploit everyone regardless of age, occupation, or social class.

Vincent Olatunji, director-general, National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), commended NPF-NCCC for its efforts and said the campaign theme was commendable.

He noted the importance of educating people on legitimate wealth and safe internet use.

Olatunji said that the fight against cybercrime required collective effort, warning that the risks were increasing daily as more people connected to the internet across Nigeria.


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Firm Enhances its Security Awareness Platform with SCORM and PDF Support

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Kaspersky has introduced an update to its Automated Security Awareness Platform, adding full support for PDF and SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) – the industry-standard protocol for deploying and managing e-learning content.

The enhancement enables organisations to build fully customised cybersecurity training programmes that reflect their infrastructure, risk profile, and internal policies, while continuing to benefit from Kaspersky’s expert-driven security content and phishing simulations.

According to the Kaspersky report titled “Redefining the Human Factor in Cybersecurity”, employees responding to phishing attacks was one of the main causes of cyber incidents in companies worldwide, accounting for 21% of cases among other reasons.

At the same time, additional Kaspersky research reveals that social engineering attacks are predicted to increase more than any other type in the nearest future, with 87% of respondents believing that social engineering attacks will become even more effective due to the use of AI tools.

The new Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform (Kaspersky ASAP) update directly addresses several persistent challenges such as reducing the number of human-related incidents, cutting time spent on managing training programmes, decreasing regulatory and compliance risks, and minimising potential legal or reputational damage stemming from cybersecurity breaches.

With the new SCORM support, the platform becomes even more flexible: companies can now upload, track, and manage their own SCORM-based learning materials directly within the system. In addition, companies can accelerate their programmes by using easier-to-create PDF-formats.

This allows organisations to tailor training to their specific technology stacks and emerging threats targeting their industry or region. Businesses that have already invested in third-party SCORM courses or internal learning development can now seamlessly reuse their existing modules, protecting their prior investments while strengthening their cybersecurity posture.

The combination of Kaspersky’s embedded content built on real cases uncovered by the company’s world-class experts with customers’ PDF materials or SCORM modules enables a true best-of-breed approach to human risk management.

Organisations can supplement Kaspersky’s up-to-date cyberattack scenarios with internal policies, unique workflows, and industry-specific lessons, ensuring training resonates with employees and reflects real operational challenges.

“Human behaviour remains one of the most unpredictable elements in cybersecurity and also one of the easiest for attackers to exploit. By adding SCORM support to Kaspersky Automated Security Awareness Platform, we’re giving organisations the flexibility to build training programmes that truly match their internal realities.

“Combined with Kaspersky’s expert-driven content and real-world attack data, this update empowers companies to create more adaptive, relevant, and impactful awareness programmes than ever before,” comments Svetlana Kalashnikova, Security Awareness expert at Kaspersky.


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