Kaspersky has updated its Cloud Workload Security (CWS) offering, introducing AI-powered workload analysis, enhanced integrations and performance optimisations designed to help organisations better secure complex cloud and hybrid environments.

The latest update brings integration with OpenAI API in the Kaspersky Container Security (KCS) part of the offering, also resulting in the creation of a new Advanced Pro license within the product.

The new capability provides contextual descriptions of detected vulnerabilities and potential risks, helping accelerate investigations, reduce knowledge gaps and support faster decision-making.

Designed for modern DevOps and hybrid cloud environments, Kaspersky CWS provides centralised visibility across workloads, Kubernetes clusters and cloud platforms, while supporting runtime protection, shift-left security practices and regulatory compliance requirements.

AI-driven visibility and improved workload protection

The update allows organisations to enrich container image scanning results with automated explanations and risk context generated by third-party large language models integrated via OpenAI API. By transforming technical scan data into actionable insights, the feature helps teams prioritise remediation and streamline security operations.

Additional improvements include single sign-on (SSO) integration and multi-domain Active Directory support, enabling more seamless deployment across distributed enterprise environments.

To optimise performance, Kaspersky CWS now also enhances image scanning efficiency by skipping oversized images when needed and avoiding rescans of identical images within a predefined timeframe. Expanded security policy capabilities and UX/UI updates further simplify workload protection and policy management.

Enhanced protection across cloud environments

The new release also updates Light Agent components, now leveraging the latest versions of Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Windows (version 12.12) and Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Linux (version 12.4) to improve overall security and integration capabilities.

“As AI adoption accelerates across industries, organisations are increasingly relying on containerised environments – placing additional pressure on security teams.

“To help ease this burden, we introduced AI integration within Kaspersky Cloud Workload Security that enables security professionals, including those just beginning their journey in container security, to make faster decisions and gain deeper insight into potential risks and vulnerabilities,” comments Anton Rusakov-Rudenko, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Cloud & Network Security at Kaspersky.

“Combined with performance optimisations and expanded integration capabilities, the solution helps organisations to protect cloud environments more efficiently while maintaining operational resilience.”

Quest Merchant Bank Limited has strengthened its market position following GCR Ratings’ affirmation of the Bank’s national scale issuer ratings of BBB(NG) and A3(NG), alongside an outlook revision to Stable from Rating Watch Negative.

The ratings action marks a significant milestone for Quest Merchant Bank following a transformative period for the institution, reflecting renewed confidence in the Bank’s financial strength, market positioning, liquidity profile and future growth trajectory.

According to GCR, the revised Stable Outlook is anchored on Quest Merchant Bank’s sound risk profile, improved capitalization and strong liquidity, alongside the successful transition of the Bank’s ownership structure following its acquisition by EverQuest LLP after the divestment by FBN Holdings.

The rating agency also highlighted the Bank’s strong presence within Nigeria’s merchant banking sector, where Quest Merchant Bank accounted for c.30% of the sub-sector’s total assets as of 31 December 2025, reinforcing its position as one of the country’s leading merchant banking institutions.

Further strengthening the Bank’s outlook was the successful completion of its ₦42.9 billion capital raise in March 2026 in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s revised minimum capital requirements. GCR noted that the capital injection is expected to further enhance the Bank’s capital adequacy position and support the next phase of business growth.

Quest Merchant Bank’s asset quality and liquidity profile also remained key strengths underpinning the ratings affirmation. The Bank maintained a NPL ratio of 3.2%, significantly below the broader banking industry average, while continuing to sustain strong liquidity metrics and resilient earnings performance.

GCR additionally recognised the strategic value of the Bank’s relationship with Custodian Investment Plc, noting the potential for expanded business opportunities, operational synergies and stronger profitability over time.

Commenting on the development, Afolabi Olorode, Ag. Managing Director/CEO, Quest Merchant Bank Limited, said: “This outlook revision is a strong signal of confidence in the future of Quest Merchant Bank and the progress we have made in strengthening our organization over the last year.

“Beyond the ratings action itself, this recognition reflects the resilience of our business, the quality of our balance sheet, and the confidence our clients, partners and stakeholders continue to place in the Bank.

“We have emerged from a defining transition period stronger, well-capitalized and better positioned to capture the opportunities ahead. We remain committed to delivering innovative solutions, creating long-term value and supporting economic growth across the sectors we serve.”

The Stable Outlook reflects GCR’s expectation that Quest Merchant Bank will continue to maintain sound asset quality, stable funding and strong liquidity metrics over the next 12 to 18 months, further reinforcing confidence in the Bank’s long-term strategic direction and operating fundamentals.

Nigeria is effectively repaying an estimated $36.4 million annually for an Abuja CCTV project that was never fully delivered, with repayments on the Chinese loan expected to run until 2030, according to Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).

The project, officially known as the National Public Security Communication System (NPSCS), was introduced under former president Goodluck Jonathan in 2010 as a major security infrastructure programme for Abuja amid rising bomb attacks and insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory.

The federal government signed a contract valued at about $470 million with ZTE Corporation for the project before securing a $399.5 million loan from China Eximbank to finance most of it.

According to data from AidData, a research lab at the College of William & Mary in the United States that tracks Chinese development finance globally, the loan carries a 20-year maturity period, a seven-year grace period, and a fixed interest rate of 2.5 per cent.

Based on those terms, repayment is expected to continue until approximately 2030.

FIJ cross-referenced these details with the DMO’s documentation of the loan.

In 2021, the DMO published ‘LOANS OBTAINED FROM CHINA EXIM AS AT SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 AMOUNTS IN MILLIONS’, where it stated that the FG had paid back $122 million and an interest of $96 million.

FIJ estimated the yearly repayment using a standard loan repayment formula often used for long-term loans like sovereign debt and mortgages.

The method assumes the loan is repaid in equal yearly instalments over a fixed period. Each payment covers part of the original loan and the interest charged on the remaining balance.

As the debt reduces over time, the interest charged also drops, although the total yearly payment stays the same.

Using this model, FIJ treated the $399.5 million loan as repayable over 13 years at an annual interest rate of 2.5 per cent.

This was after factoring in a seven-year grace period within the loan’s 20-year lifespan.

Based on these assumptions, the estimated yearly repayment came to about $36.4 million.

This estimate is only a simplified projection. In reality, sovereign loans are often repaid under more flexible arrangements.

Sometimes, there could be semi-annual payments, interest added during grace periods, or repayment plans where larger payments come later.

FIJ understands that the debt has also become more expensive in naira terms because the loan is denominated in US dollars.

When the loan agreement was signed in 2010, the naira exchanged at roughly N150 to $1 in the official market, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. At that rate, the $399.5 million facility was equivalent to around N59.9 billion.

On Monday, however, the dollar traded above N1,370 at the official market.

Using an exchange rate of N1,371/$, the same $399.5 million obligation is now equivalent to about N547.8 billion.

In effect, the naira value of the debt has increased by roughly N487.9 billion since the loan was signed.

This means the debt burden has grown by more than nine times in naira terms in the past 16 years due largely to the depreciation of the naira against the dollar.

Nigeria is effectively repaying about $36.4 million yearly for the Abuja CCTV project under the loan’s repayment structure.

At the current official exchange rate of roughly N1,371 to the dollar, that yearly repayment translates to about N49.9 billion annually.

When the loan was signed in 2010, however, the naira traded at around N150/$, meaning the same yearly repayment would have cost about N5.5 billion at the time.

The CCTV project has remained controversial since the start of the implementation.

The federal government originally presented the project as a modern surveillance and emergency-response system designed to improve security monitoring across Abuja.

The infrastructure was expected to include city-wide CCTV surveillance, emergency communication systems, command-and-control centres and integrated police communication facilities.

But in 2016, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs visited the control centre and found that many installed cameras were either inactive or non-functional.

In 2019, the matter resurfaced when lawmakers asked why Nigeria was still repaying the Chinese loan despite concerns about the operational status of the surveillance infrastructure.

During legislative discussions at the time, Zainab Ahmed, then minister of Finance, stated that the government was still servicing the loan but did not have full information regarding the project’s implementation status. Lawmakers brought the issue back to the fore in April due to insecurity in the Federal Capital Territory.

The issue became the subject of litigation after the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project  (SERAP)sued the Federal Government under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking details of the spending and implementation process.

In 2023, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the government to disclose information relating to the project, including how the loan was spent and the identities of contractors involved.

On Sunday, the Federal Ministry of Finance had told SERAP, which had urged Taiwo Oyedele to publish details surrounding the project, that, “Records from the Ministry of Police Affairs indicate that while local subcontractors may have been engaged, there is an absence of detailed subcontracting records identifying specific local companies that received funds directly from the Chinese loan.”