E-Business
Agile Workforce: Why HR Must Take Strategic Lead
Most organisations are under pressure to evolve their businesses at a faster pace as they try to get in step with rapid changes in the business landscape, technology and customer behaviour.
That means HR departments, too, need to become better equipped to lead the organisation’s people through constant and rapid change.
They need to build a more agile workforce that is ready to adjust to the evolving needs of the market.
This goes beyond offering people flexible working arrangements such as flexible hours or the ability to work from home.
It is about helping to shift the organisational culture to one that embraces learning, change and innovation.
It is also about recruiting, developing and retaining people who thrive in a changing world – chameleon workers who can adapt to change, learn new skills in a short space of time and seamlessly move from assignment to assignment.
The HR department of the future must thus shift its focus from reducing risk and managing red-tape towards a highly strategic role of guiding change, improving agility, and ultimately driving higher performance.
Here are a few ideas about how HR must evolve in the years to come:
Accommodate A More Fluid Workforce
The way that businesses structure their workforces is changing as they begin to source more of their talent through freelancers, crowdsourcing, and other approaches that give employees and companies more flexibility. What’s more, we can also expect to see a further churn in the workforce as more young professionals join an organisation to take part in a project or achieve a specific career goal – and then leave after two to three years.
Even within the walls of the business, we can expect to see teams become more fluid as people are brought together for specific projects and initiatives, and then disbanded so they can move to other parts of the business. In a sense, many parts of the business will follow the same sort of ‘gig economy’ model as movie studios and agencies, building bespoke and sometimes virtual teams of in-house and external skills for each project.
HR teams will need to facilitate this shift, making it easier for managers to source and develop the talent when they need it and where they need it.
For example, they might build databases of skills that they share with managers and facilitate talent exchange programmes between different business units and departments.
Create Flexible Career Options
In an agile workforce, HR will need to rethink how it develops career paths, salary bands and job descriptions.
It will need to support managers and their teams as they organically develop their own roles and tasks, often on a project-by-project basis. This will also mean new ways of measuring performance and rewarding employees that meet the needs of a changing workplace.
For example, tech companies like Google allow engineers to spend some of their workday working on passion projects and innovative ideas rather than making them spend all their time on a narrowly defined scope. This has the benefit of creating new ideas for the business and keeping employees engaged – in turn, helping with talent retention.
Facilitate a Culture of Innovation
HR departments play an important role in shaping organisational culture – from helping to source talent to supporting change management and designing rewards and incentive programmes. To support a more agile business, they need to look at how and where they source talent; how they reward and incentivise the right behaviour; how they support managers and employees through their tools and processes; and how they measure performance.
Develop a learning organisation rather than a ‘training strategy’
One of the major challenges HR face is helping the business and the workforce keep up with the rapid pace of change in today’s digital world. With mobile technology, the cloud, analytics, blockchain and the Internet of Things changing the world so rapidly, companies and their workforces need to learn fast.
This means that HR departments need to look beyond rigid learning programmes towards creating a culture where continuous learning is valued. This is all about creating opportunities for mentorship, providing on-the-job learning opportunities, and responding quickly when new skills are needed.
Closing Words
Integrated HR management systems play an important role in helping HR departments become more agile and to provide their businesses with strategic support.
They automate red-tape so that HR professionals can focus on where they can add value, and they provide data and analytics tools to support agile decision-making.
In a time of seismic technological change, Sage is focused on using the smartest technology to reinvent and simplify HR processes and this has made us an indispensable business partner to our customers.
Anja van Beek, Vice President for People, Sage International (Africa, Australia, Middle East and Asia)
E-Business
Organizations Face New Attacks via Unpatched TrueConf Videoconferencing Servers, Kaspersky Warns
Kaspersky has discovered a new multi-stage attack by the Head Mare APT group against organisations with PhantomCore and PhantomGraph backdoors. To deliver these backdoors, the attackers exploit vulnerabilities in unpatched TrueConf videoconferencing servers and can also replace TrueConf client installers with infected ones.
Kaspersky reported the attacks to the vendor; the vulnerabilities were fixed in the latest TrueConf Server update on June 18, 2026 (versions 5.3.9, 5.4.9, and 5.5.5).
To compromise the TrueConf server, attackers exploited a combination of two vulnerabilities (assigned internal Kaspersky identifiers are KLCERT-26-057 and KLCERT-26-058), which allowed the attackers to execute any code with maximum privileges. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, they replaced one of the server’s files with their own web shell.
The attackers then used this shell to collect information about the victim organisation’s IT infrastructure, gain privileged access to the TrueConf server database, and replace the client installer with an infected one. The attack applies to TrueConf servers in versions 5.3.X prior to 5.3.9, 5.4.X prior to 5.4.9, 5.5.X prior to 5.5.5, and earlier.
For users of TrueConf software, the attack looks like this: video conference participants connecting to the compromised server are prompted to download and install an “updated version” of the client application. In reality, as a result of this, malware gets onto the device.
“Exploiting vulnerabilities in popular services is one of the most common methods used by attackers. This campaign is particularly dangerous because it puts at risk not only organisations using unpatched TrueConf servers.
“Even if a company doesn’t use this solution, its employees can connect to compromised servers at the invitation of their counterparties to participate in online meetings. As a result, they may unknowingly download infected installation packages, creating the potential for compromising a large number of enterprises across different countries,” comments Evgeny Goncharov, Head of Kaspersky ICS CERT.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Iran-Israel conflict, and the controversy involving social media activist VeryDarkMan and businessman Blord dominated Google searches by Nigerians between January and July.
This is contained in a review of anonymised Google Trends data released on Friday, which ranked the major stories that generated the highest search interest in Nigeria during the period.
The World Cup recorded the highest search volume, with Nigerians following the Super Eagles’ campaign, major matches, entertainment performances and developments throughout the tournament.
The data showed that searches around the tournament far exceeded those recorded for other major events during the seven-month period.
The Super Eagles’ AFCON semi-final defeat to Morocco also generated significant search interest, with “Nigeria vs Morocco” among the leading individual searches.
Senegal eventually won the AFCON title after defeating Morocco in the final on Jan. 18.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, Italy, also attracted substantial interest from Nigerians in February, including searches around ice hockey and other events.
Google Trends data further showed increased searches around Iran and the Strait of Hormuz following the escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
Searches including “Iran news,” “Israel Iran war” and “Strait of Hormuz meaning” featured prominently as Nigerians sought information on the conflict and its possible impact on global oil prices.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major global oil transit route, carrying about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
The controversy involving cryptocurrency entrepreneur Blord and social media activist VeryDarkMan also maintained strong search interest for several months.
The saga peaked around Blord’s arrest and subsequent remand in Kuje prison in April, followed by his release on bail 16 days later.
Searches for “Who is Blord” also featured prominently, indicating growing interest among Nigerians seeking background information on the businessman.
The death of celebrities also generated significant search activity during the period.
Afro-fuji singer Destiny Boy, who died in January at the age of 22, remained in the news amid investigations into his death and an autopsy.
The death of American actor Eric Dane, known for his roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria, also generated substantial searches in February.
Similarly, the reported death of Nollywood actor Alexx Ekubo in May, at the age of 40, generated renewed search interest in June during his burial ceremonies.
Political and legal developments were also among the major subjects searched by Nigerians.
Former Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, who was sentenced to 75 years in prison over an alleged N33 billion fraud, generated significant interest following his arrest by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Kaduna in May.
The political crisis involving Mudashiru Obasa and his return as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly also featured prominently.
Globally, Nigerians showed strong interest in the release of millions of pages of documents relating to the late American financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Meanwhile, internet culture accounted for some of the lighter moments in the search rankings.
The Gen Z meme “67” became one of the most searched terms in January, generating curiosity among older Nigerians over its meaning.
The trend originated from a U.S. rap song and became popular among young people, with the phrase often used without a specific meaning.
In April, the case involving Opeyemi Awodoyin, an OPay customer who reportedly received N100,000 in error and declined to return the money, also attracted widespread online interest and public debate.
The reported hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship further prompted Nigerians to search for information about the disease in May.
Celebrity-related stories also featured prominently in the rankings.
Veteran broadcaster Frank Edoho’s confirmation of his divorce and subsequent allegations involving his former wife generated considerable search interest in May.
In July, music promoter Sam Larry survived a road crash on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road which reportedly claimed the life of his bodyguard, leading to renewed online discussions around the late singer Mohbad.
In the entertainment sector, Wizkid and Asake’s “Jogodo” dominated searches around January, while Asake’s album generated renewed interest in May.
The 2026 Grammy Awards also attracted substantial search traffic, with Nigerians searching for winners and other developments from the ceremony.
Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance also generated significant interest, while films including Mortal Kombat 2 and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey featured among popular entertainment searches.
Footballer Zadok Yohanna’s reported €28 million transfer to Brighton also attracted attention, particularly among Nigerian football followers.
Commenting on the findings, Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Communications and Public Affairs Manager, West Africa, Google, said search data provided an insight into issues commanding Nigerians’ attention.
“Search data is the most honest record of national attention we have, because nobody performs for a search bar,” he said.
According to him, Nigerians did not only consume major stories but actively searched for explanations and context surrounding them.
The rankings were based on peak monthly search interest in Nigeria between January and July 2026, with related queries grouped together.
The top 25 trending searches during the period included the FIFA World Cup 2026, 2026 Winter Olympics, AFCON Nigeria vs Morocco, Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, Blord, Alexx Ekubo, “67”, Destiny Boy, Erling Haaland and France’s World Cup campaign.
Others were the Grammy Awards 2026, Epstein files, hantavirus, Saleh Mamman, Obasa impeachment saga, Sam Larry, Shakira and Burna Boy’s World Cup performance, Zadok Yohanna, Eric Dane, Opeyemi Awodoyin, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show, Frank Edoho, Mortal Kombat 2, The Odyssey and “Jogodo” by Wizkid featuring Asake.
Google Trends provides access to an anonymised sample of search requests made to Google and categorises the information to show collective search interest across regions and over time.
Kaspersky’s latest survey highlights a protection gap between macOS and Windows based devices. While macOS has long been regarded as the more secure operating system, 12% of its users reported malware infections compared with 9% of Windows users. Moreover, only 35% of macOS owners install dedicated security software, versus 42% of Windows users.
According to Kaspersky’s latest global survey*, Windows users report a higher adoption rate for most security measures, while macOS users show a modest advantage in a few privacy‑focused actions. At the same time, during the past year macOS users reported higher percentages than Windows users for a number of cybersecurity incidents.
The largest gap in cybersecurity approaches appears in the habit of not opening suspicious emails or links, with 62% of Windows users following this practice compared to 51% of macOS users.
What’s more, when it comes to cybersecurity software installation, macOS users are also lagging behind. While among Windows users 42% reported using digital‑life‑protection software, for macOS this rate is only 35%, what Kaspersky security experts call a worryingly low figure.
It is noteworthy that 12% of macOS respondents said they fell victim to phishing (fake emails, websites or messages) over the past year compared with 9% of Windows users. Moreover, during this period macOS users faced more scams and investment frauds (16% vs 13%), privacy violations (11% vs 8%) and thefts of personal data (12% vs 7%).
To counter these specific threats, robust anti-malware and anti-phishing protection is essential. Malware authors put a lot of effort into developing new, more powerful and stealthier versions of stealers, spies and other classes of malicious payloads, while relying on phishing techniques that allows them to get access to user’s data.
Dedicated security solutions add a crucial layer of real-time detection and defence that complements macOS’s built-in protection – and independent tests have repeatedly shown that effective options, such as Kaspersky Premium for macOS, deliver strong protection. In 2025, AV-TEST recognised it as the top-performing macOS security solution based on consistent, reliable results across a full year of evaluations.
When it comes to credentials and passwords safety, Windows users also show better security practices’ adoption rates. They lead in using a unique password for each account (38% vs 35%) and complex passwords (52% vs 45%), two‑factor or multi‑factor authentication (51% vs 46%).
Adopting a dedicated password manager becomes a logical next step. Such tools store all credentials in a secure vault protected by a single master password, eliminating the need to remember hundreds of passwords while keeping them safe from breaches.
They also support modern authentication methods like passkeys, enabling seamless, single-tap sign-in across all devices through secure synchronisation – capabilities offered by solutions such as Kaspersky Password Manager.
“There are entrenched stereotypes that macOS is inherently more secure because its user base is smaller, leading cyber‑criminals to deem it a lower‑value target, or because the platform itself includes many robust security features. While these observations are not entirely unfounded, the threat landscape has evolved dramatically.
Attackers actively employ phishing and commit supply chain attacks, which often allow them to affect users of any operating system in a single malware campaign. Moreover, mac specific malware is not rare and there are many malware families that target macs exclusively. Consequently, any device with an Internet connection, regardless of its operating system or form factor, requires cybersecurity software to defend against a wide range of cyber threats,” comments Sergey Puzan, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky.
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