E-Business
Five Steps to Evaluating a DDoS Managed Service Provider
The news that the Southern African Department of Labour was recently able to foil a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on one of its external facing servers in early September reminds us that businesses and governments must remain vigilant at all times
While this DDOS attack was unsuccessful, a 2016 attack in Liberia, West Africa took the entire country offline for a week, when a Mirai botnet variant known as Botnet 14 spent seven continuous days on the offensive, flooding the two companies that co-owned the fibre going into country with 600 Gbps flows that overwhelmed its infrastructure. https://threatpost.com/ddos-attacks-get-bigger-smarter-and-more-diverse/134028/
Bryan Hamman, territory manager for sub-Saharan Africa at NETSCOUT Arbor, which specialises in advanced distributed denial of service (DDoS) protection solutions, said, “We know that DDoS attackers will target anyone today, from SMEs that might have valuable data, to banks with sophisticated security systems, all the way to governments at the level of a sovereign nation. By using multiple compromised computer systems to attack a target and cause a denial of service for legitimate users, a flood of incoming information forces the target system to slow down or even crash. And so vigilance remains the eternal watchword.”
In this vein, NETSCOUT Arbor says the case for a managed DDoS protection and mitigation service is well established as partnering with a provider that can oversee your organisation’s security operations takes a critical IT management issue off your plate, boosts your staff resources, and gives you access to specialised DDoS expertise. But not all managed DDoS services are alike.
Hamman clarified, “When you are choosing your managed DDoS service provider, NETSCOUT Arbor outlines the following key areas to look out for: the flexibility to handle customised workflows; customer-focused reporting and intelligence; adequate network size; the experience of the provider’s IT team; and a best-practice hybrid solution.”
Flexibility to handle custom workflows: Your organisation may already have some operational processes and procedures in place for dealing with DDoS threats. A managed service provider should be able to adapt and align to you, rather than requiring you to change your processes. “You may wish to ask questions such as: Under what scenarios do you want the service provider to initiate mitigation action on its own, or seek your authorisation? Can the provider support different actions based on different alert types or event levels?” says Hamman.
Customer-focused reporting and intelligence: A good DDoS provider will deliver reports detailing the latest incidents and the actions taken in response to security events.
However, a DDoS provider that is prepared to take their service to the next level above this will take a more proactive, consultative approach, which leverages global threat intelligence as the basis for recommendations to improve your security posture. A managed service provider should also be able to supply executive-level reporting that enables you to demonstrate ROI and key metrics for the C-suite.
Size of network: NETSCOUT Arbor says DDoS attacks are growing in sheer size and rapidly approaching terabyte territory, due largely to amplification techniques and the emergence of Internet of Things (IoT) botnets. The capacity to absorb and disperse the largest known attacks is imperative. Equally important is a distributed infrastructure, with multiple locations that enables mitigation to take place as close to the source of attack as possible. This not only avoids “choke points” – it accelerates time-to-mitigation cycles.
While absolute network size is an important consideration, so too is the amount of capacity dedicated to DDoS mitigation. A dedicated provider is critical to mitigating massive attacks. It should be noted that managed service providers support multiple customers, and there is always the risk that several will be hit at once. It is not enough, therefore, to have capacity levels that are equal to or even twice the size of any potential attack. Rather, the network must be several orders of magnitude bigger than the largest known attacks. Ten terabytes of capacity is quickly becoming the standard that will define the modern, managed DDoS provider.
Experience of team: A good provider will be highly reliant on automation. Over and above this, your provider of choice needs to understand that foiling threat actors takes human intelligence – the ability to recognise and analyse a real attack, understand its origins and quickly determine its objectives. “Therefore,” says Hamman, “your provider of choice should have dedicated research teams with decades of experience studying, analysing and overseeing the successful mitigation of DDoS attack, as well as excellent security expertise from team members with diverse professional backgrounds and complementary skills.”
Best-practice hybrid solution: Increasingly, security experts agree that a hybrid solution, combining on-premise and cloud capabilities, is the best defence against DDoS attacks. The on-premise component can typically capture the vast majority of malicious traffic. If an attack threatens to exhaust the capacity of an on-premise appliance, the cloud capability can automatically activate. Today, on-premise defences can be virtualised. With a fully managed service, costs are offset by a reduction in staffing requirements. And you only pay for as much cloud capacity you consume.
“As we’ve reported previously, data from the NETSCOUT Arbor Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report (WISR) for 2018 showed that South Africa was within the top 10 of countries targeted by DDoS attacks for both the 2018 and 2017 WISR reports. DDoS defences simply cannot be emphasised enough,” concludes Hamman.
Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group have partnered with Tate Modern to commemorate World Art Day with a virtual session highlighting the global significance of Nigerian modernism.
Access Holdings
The event, titled “In Conversation with Osei Bonsu: Inside Nigerian Modernism,” featured a virtual tour of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition and discussions on the evolution of modern art in Nigeria.
The session brought together staff members across both organisations, reflecting growing institutional engagement with arts and culture as a driver of societal development.
Speaking at the event, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer of Coronation Group, Ngozi Akinyele, emphasised the role of art in shaping identity and national development.
She said that beyond financial capital, cultural and intellectual capital are essential in defining a nation’s prosperity and inspiring dialogue.
Akinyele noted that both organisations were committed to democratising access to art, ensuring it is accessible to a wider audience rather than a select few.
The discussion also featured insights from Tate Modern Curator, Osei Bonsu, and art expert Daniel Wallis, who examined the development of Nigerian modernism and its global relevance.
Bonsu said Nigerian modernism represents an independent reimagining of global art, rooted in the country’s diverse cultural heritage and expressed through unique visual languages.
According to him, the movement challenges narrow, Eurocentric definitions of modernism and highlights the richness of African artistic expression.
The session further underscored the growing international recognition of Nigerian art, particularly through exhibitions at Tate Modern.
Participants also reflected on the visit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the exhibition, described as a milestone in promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage globally.
In his closing remarks, Chief Communications Officer of Access Holdings, Amaechi Okobi, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to advancing African narratives on the global stage.
He said the collaboration with Tate Modern aligns with broader efforts to promote dialogue, preserve cultural identity and support the creative sector.
The event reinforced a shared commitment by Access Holdings, Coronation Group and Tate Modern to elevate African art globally and ensure Nigerian cultural narratives continue to shape international conversations.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a regulatory advisory to data controllers and processors across the country following what it described as escalating threats to Nigeria’s data security architecture.
NDPC
In a statement signed by Babatunde Bamigboye, lead of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, the commission said its technical assessment revealed that some shadowy threat actors were engaged in coordinated operations targeting financial systems and critical digital infrastructure in Nigeria.
The commission urged public institutions to comply with the presidential directive of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which emphasises the strategic importance of data in national development.
According to the NDPC, the President had declared that “data is the new oil,” stressing the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to rigorously capture and safeguard information in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
The commission therefore advised all data controllers and processors to urgently strengthen their technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and ensure compliance with the law.
It listed key measures to include the appointment of trained and certified Data Protection Officers, implementation of comprehensive privacy policies and information security standards, as well as conducting Data Privacy Impact Assessments.
Other measures recommended by the NDPC include deployment of robust identity and access controls such as Multi-Factor Authentication, adoption of zero-trust security architecture, prompt remediation of system vulnerabilities, and continuous patch management.
The commission also emphasised the need to secure cloud infrastructure, application programming interfaces (APIs), databases and access credentials, alongside real-time monitoring, logging and threat detection systems.
Further recommendations include encryption and secure credential handling, regular vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of critical systems, as well as routine backup and resilience testing.
The NDPC warned that organisations that fail to implement appropriate data protection measures in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 risk legal liabilities.
It reiterated its commitment to providing regulatory support to organisations while ensuring the protection of personal data and strengthening institutional resilience across all sectors.
The forex market across Africa is witnessing more participants and more regulatory attention than it did just a few years ago. This growth is part of a bigger picture: Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to expand by 4.3% in 2026, while global forex turnover already hit an estimated $9.6 trillion daily in April 2025. However, there’s more to it than macroeconomic figures.
The trends reshaping the market are happening from within. Here are six worth paying close attention to.
1. Trading Has Moved to the Phone
The number of people accessing the market via mobile phones exceeds those accessing it via traditional bank systems. GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts.
The International Monetary Fund states that digitalisation and increased usage of the internet are changing payment systems in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.
Mobile access changes traders’ behavior. It lowers the barrier to entry and speeds up deposits and withdrawals. Therefore, brokers who can provide a quality mobile trading experience will have a huge advantage.
2. Regulators Are Watching
The market is becoming more structured and more transparent. In South Africa, the FSCA regulates market conduct for financial institutions. In Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority regulates capital markets and maintains a licensing system that includes online forex brokers.
Nigeria’s SEC has publicly warned that online retail forex trading can be subject to abuse when unregulated. It also provides tools for investors to check operators’ registrations.
As a result, in 2026, more traders are likely to favour brokers that can show clear licensing, transparent operations, and stronger investor safeguards.
3. Volatility Varies by Country
A common mistake is perceiving the African market as one entity. In reality, according to RegTech Afrika, there are 21 countries out of a total of 54 that have a chance of seeing their currencies depreciate in 2025, with some of them losing value by as much as 6% or more.
A trader watching the rand, naira, shilling, or cedi, regional headlines needs more than regional headlines. Country-level macro data, central bank moves, and the US dollar will still play a major role.
4. Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure Is Quietly Improving
Platforms like PAPSS are helping make payments across African countries faster and easier to complete in local currencies. According to official announcements of PAPSS, it has become operational in 18 countries across Africa, with its latest launch in Algeria in 2025. It has also become operational in Kenya through a partnership with KCB Group, as well as in Rwanda through a partnership with Bank of Kigali.
Step by step, Africa is becoming a more financially connected continent.
5. Execution Quality Is the New Standard
Data from the BIS shows that in April 2025, three-quarters of FX trades were intermediated by the global centers of the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Therefore, the best liquidity and best prices are still linked to global conditions.
For local markets, this raises the bar. Forex traders are becoming increasingly aware that tight spreads, while important, mean little without reliable prices and execution. Brokers like JustMarkets that can bring all of these elements together are in a much stronger position than competitors.
6. Education as a Necessity
Regulatory disclosures from major global brokers illustrate how tough it is to trade without proper knowledge. According to publicly available disclosures, between 70% and 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Forex traders who understand risk management and which financial news to follow have a better chance of surviving the market. Brokers who invest in education are more likely to be seen by traders as valuable partners rather than mere facilitators.
The Market Rewards the Prepared
Africa’s forex market in 2026 is shaped by volatility, stricter rules, and mobile-first trading. The traders who combine market knowledge with the right tools and the right broker will find real opportunity here, while those who don’t adapt will find the market increasingly unforgiving.
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