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Africa’s Data Security Readiness at Low Levels – Report

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Despite a high level of IT security awareness and robust corporate IT governance policies in Africa, the level of data security preparedness is still very low.

This is according to the 2019 “State of Information Security Preparedness in Africa: Data Protection Survey”, compiled by information risk solutions provider, Arcon Techsolutions.

More than 100 industry IT professionals, CIOs and CISOs from Kenya, Nigeria, SA and Ghana were surveyed to establish the state of Africa’s IT and data security preparedness.

The survey highlights that African organisations remain increasingly vulnerable to data breaches. As a result, organisations will have to reinforce their privileged access to secure confidential and sensitive corporate data.

Root cause

The majority of the survey participants believe the root cause for the steep rise in data breaches on the continent is mainly due to a compromised user or privileged account, with 79% of the survey participants agreeing to that fact.

Unfortunately, the awareness alone is not enough to build up a secure IT environment, notes the survey.

“Implementing best privileged account management practices like access based on only need-to-know and principle-of-least-privilege, along with frequent randomisation of privileged credentials, can make the IT security posture more robust.”

According to the survey, 74% of the participants accepted that privileged access management (PAM) is a major area of concern for information security.

Paresh Makwana, cyber security expert and business development consultant at Arcon Techsolutions, says organisations’ IT attack surface expands when adequate attention is not given to secure the access control mechanism.

“Typically, administrative accounts are targeted by malicious insiders or compromised third-party users and sometimes organised cyber criminals. They are always on the lookout to steal or misuse information by making an unauthorised access to target systems.

“Privileged access management practice helps an organisation to establish a rule- and role-based centralised access control policy over users. Therefore, any malicious attempt to breach sensitive information is prevented and the IT administrator receives alert messages about the suspicious activities.”

The survey adds: “To overcome these enormous IT pain-points and secure enterprise databases and critical business applications from malicious activities, enterprises need to adopt best privilege account management practices.

“Privileged access management offers the security team with a foundation to build a robust mechanism to manage, monitor and control privileged identities as every access to target systems is authorised, authenticated and documented.”

Governing policies

Responding to the question whether their companies follow digital or cyber governance policies, most of the participants (88.3%) acknowledged they have information security and governance policies within their organisations.

However, according to the survey, hardly any of those policies emphasise the security of privileged accounts that are the gateways to crucial and confidential data. “Most of the organisations confessed they have not invested in privileged access management solutions to date, which is a matter of genuine concern.”

Three percent of the respondents revealed they don’t know whether their companies follow information security and governance policies, while 7.8% indicated they are unaware.

Under discussion

In regards to the issue of data theft as a key topic within boardroom discussions, 50.6% of the survey respondents indicated ‘no’ to that question, with 44.2% saying ‘yes’. The remainder (5.3%) were ‘not sure’.

The survey states: “In spite of rampant data breach incidents hurting organisations, surprisingly, around 50.6% of respondents believe data theft is not a recurrent subject of boardroom discussions.

“IT security personnel should make this matter more pronounced to the management and board so that everyone is on the same page regarding steps taken to mitigate data security threats.”

Fear factor

Answering the question to what they fear the most, 33.7% highlighted phishing or malware remains the top of the list of their security threats.

The survey also observes that three-quarters of security professionals surveyed fear third-party IT users, insiders and targeted attacks.

“It is important to note the IT attack surface widens due to unmonitored privileged accounts. Malicious third-party IT users, disgruntled corporate insiders and organised cyber criminals snoop privileged credentials to target confidential information.”

Money matters

The survey participants (48%) felt the IT risk and security management team would like to invest in PAM, followed by database activity monitoring (41.55%) and identity access management (36.36%).

In addition, 33.76% voiced their opinion for security compliance management and mobile device management, according to the survey.

“Governance, risk and compliance is also seen as a matter of concern because almost 25.97% respondents held that opinion; and finally, 11.68% respondents felt both identity access management and PAM technologies will be critical IT security investment areas.”


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E-Business

Galaxy Backbone Celebrates the Federal Government’s Paperless Civil Service Milestone

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Galaxy Backbone (GBB) aligns with and celebrates the successful announcement by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on the achievement of a Paperless Civil Service, a significant milestone in Nigeria’s public sector reform and digital transformation agenda.

The milestone was formally highlighted at a press briefing led by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, who commended Galaxy Backbone for its sustained support and contribution throughout the implementation of the programme.

GBB has played a critical role in enabling this transition by providing secure, scalable, and shared digital infrastructure that supports the digitisation of government processes across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Through the 1Government Cloud, MDAs have been empowered to migrate from paper-based workflows to digital platforms, improving efficiency, collaboration, data security, and service delivery across the Federal Civil Service.

In addition, GovMail, GBB’s secure government email platform, has strengthened official communication, enhanced records management, and reinforced cybersecurity standards—key pillars in sustaining a paperless operating environment.

Galaxy Backbone acknowledges the collective efforts of the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Permanent Secretaries, Directors of ICT, consultants, partners, and dedicated public servants whose commitment and collaboration ensured the smooth delivery of this initiative.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, was represented at the press briefing by Akintayo Bamisaye, Acting Group Head, Research, Digital Innovation and Skills Department (RDIS).

GBB describes the achievement as a strong close to 2025 and reaffirms its commitment to supporting the Federal Government in building a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled public service.


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Jumia CEO says Black Friday Signals Nigeria’s E-Commerce Maturity

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At the close of 2025, Temidayo Ojo, the CEO of Jumia Nigeria, reflected on a year-end shopping season that points to the growing maturity of the country’s e-commerce market. “Black Friday is no longer a single, short-lived spike in activity,” he said.

“It has become a familiar, anticipated moment in the retail calendar, where consumers shop deliberately and with confidence.”

Preliminary KPIs for the two months ended November 30, 2025, show strong year-on-year growth in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value (GMV), with GMV growth outpacing order growth. This indicates that customers are placing fuller, more considered baskets rather than shopping in fragmented transactions. Nigeria ranked among Jumia Group’s better-performing markets, with engagement remaining steady throughout the Black Friday period rather than spiking briefly and tapering off.

A key factor behind this performance is the growing familiarity of consumers with online shopping. Customers are increasingly leveraging platform features such as saved carts, brand stores, and price comparison tools to plan purchases in advance. This trend suggests that digital commerce is becoming embedded in everyday habits rather than being viewed as a one-off event.

Ojo also highlighted the role of Jumia’s JForce network in connecting digital commerce to local communities. “Our agents are critical to ensuring that customers across Nigeria, including secondary cities and smaller communities, have access to variety, consistent pricing, and reliable delivery,” he said. “During peak periods like Black Friday, JForce agents can respond faster, serve more customers efficiently, and build stronger local relationships. This isn’t just a distribution channel—it’s a pathway to sustainable income and inclusion.”

Reflecting on the overall performance, the CEO concluded: “What we’re seeing this year-end is steady engagement across categories, stronger consumer confidence, and partners like our JForce agents benefiting from increased activity.

“It confirms that Nigeria’s e-commerce ecosystem is maturing, growing in a more structured and resilient way. As the December Holiday Sale continues, we expect these patterns of familiarity, trust, and participation to sustain momentum and drive both commerce and community impact across the country.”


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Galaxy Backbone Tops FG’s Website Performance Ranking

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Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) has been ranked first overall in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard.

Galaxy Backbone Tops FG's Website Performance Ranking

This is a landmark achievement for Nigeria’s digital economy.

The ranking, conducted by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), is the definitive benchmark for digital excellence and transparency across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju, managing director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, received the award during a ceremony in Abuja.

He described the feat as a validation of the agency’s“Nigeria First”data sovereignty strategy and its relentless pursuit of service excellence.

This recognition comes as the Federal Government intensifies its push to achieve a fully paperless civil service by December 31, 2025.

GBB has been the primary architect of this transition through its 1Gov Enterprise Content Management (ECM) platform, which now hosts the operations of almost all federal MDAs.

The award adds to a growing list of accolades for Galaxy Backbone in 2025, following its recent win of the “International Standard Excellence Award for Best IT Service Provider.”

As the central hub for government shared services, GBB’s performance serves as a blueprint for other agencies currently undergoing digital transformation.

With its expanded fiber-optic backbone now covering over 13 states and its secure cloud solutions, Galaxy Backbone remains the cornerstone of Nigeria’s vision to become a leading digital nation by the end of the decade.

 


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