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Budget Constraints Begin to Bite Smart Digital Enterprise

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In a recent IT security survey of Middle East organizations conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC), almost 60% of the respondents identified budget constraints as a major challenge when it comes to implementing IT security solutions.

At the same time, 68% of Middle East CIOs indicated that maintaining security will remain their biggest technology challenge throughout 2016 as they face mounting pressure to ensure high levels of system performance and availability.

This requirement to seemingly do more with less featured heavily on the agenda of IDC’s recent IT Security Roadshows in Jeddah and Riyadh, where more than 250 senior security professionals from the Kingdom’s government, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction, and BFSI verticals – to name just a few – gathered to undertake an in-depth examination of the increasingly volatile forces shaping the prevailing threat landscape in Saudi Arabia as new economic realities begin to bite.

“Given the current economic environment, it is only natural that organizations in Saudi Arabia look to revisit their IT budgets,” says Megha Kumar, senior research manager for software at IDC Middle East, Africa, and Turkey. “But while cost optimization is an obvious priority, organizations must not neglect the critical importance of their information security posture. Employing a reactive approach to security in these circumstances is certainly a strategy to avoid as it creates exactly the sort of ecosystem that cybercriminals require in order to gain access to systems and even compromise critical infrastructure.”

“Budget constraints are likely to remain a challenge for the foreseeable future in Saudi Arabia,” continues Kumar. “But the security conundrum becomes even more challenging when organizations look to start downsizing their headcounts in a bid to free up much-needed resources. In such a scenario, the threat of insider risk is exacerbated as disgruntled employees leave the company, potentially taking sensitive corporate information with them. As such, data loss prevention, data access management, and governance all become major security factors that must be addressed in order to avert any unwanted drama.”

With all this in mind, organizations in the Kingdom are now seeking IT solutions that will facilitate improved cost and operational efficiencies. And as they increasingly look to exploit innovative new business models and services, they will inevitably move into far more open, digitally-enabled ecosystems.

This all means that cybersecurity and privacy solutions will become one of the major technological drivers of successful digital transformation strategies, but businesses must first undertake a proper risk assessment to discover precisely where they can be compromised.

“The successful application of network security is largely dependent on the ability of Saudi organizations to understand and analyze the nature of cyber risk and appreciate its potential impact on their businesses,” said Ruben Espinosa, regional marketing manager at RSA, which partnered with IDC for the IT Security Roadshow 2016 in both Jeddah and Riyadh. “It is encouraging to see that cybersecurity is finally being taken very seriously in the Kingdom, with a growing number of organizations now incorporating cyber risk into their enterprise risk-planning strategies, bringing board-level visibility to a vital area that has traditionally been overlooked. It is certainly an approach that RSA advocates, and we were delighted that our partnership with IDC enabled us to reinforce this message with the people that truly matter.”

As well as Jeddah and Riyadh, IDC’s annual IT Security Roadshow has also already stopped off in Kuwait, Istanbul, and Ankara, and its tour of the Middle East and Africa is far from over as events are still to be held in Doha, Oman, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Cairo, Johannesburg, and Lagos.

A wide range of leading technology vendors partnered with IDC’s ‘IT Security Roadshow 2016’ in Riyadh, including RSA and Palo Alto as Platinum Partners; Help AG (in association with Tenable) and Cyberia as Gold Partners; HP, Aujas, Aruba Networks, and Oxygen as Silver Partners; and Innovative Solutions as lunch partners.

IDC’s partners in Jeddah included RSA and HP (in association with Natcom) as Gold Partners; Check Point as Silver Partner; and Innovative Solutions as Lunch Partner.

 

 


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Jumia Expands Nationwide Footprint, Deepens Reach Across Underserved Nigerian Cities

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e-commerce company, Jumia Nigeria, has announced a significant expansion of its logistics and pickup network across Nigeria, extending its reach into underserved regions and strengthening access to e-commerce services for millions of consumers.

The expansion, executed during the first quarter of 2026, marks a deliberate shift toward upcountry growth, with new and expanded operations across Northern Nigeria, including Kebbi, Sokoto, and Kaduna, while also strengthening presence in strategic cities like Zaria. The move is designed to close long-standing coverage gaps in high-potential areas and bring its services closer to more customers.

According to the company, the expansion reflects a convergence of customer demand, infrastructure strategy, and long-term market development, as more Nigerians outside major urban centres seek reliable access to digital retail.

“We are seeing a structural shift in where demand is coming from. What this expansion does is align our infrastructure with that reality. By extending our network deeper into the country, we are not only improving service delivery, but we are also unlocking new demand, enabling more sellers to participate in the digital economy, and building a more inclusive retail ecosystem that reflects the true scale of the Nigerian market,” said Temidayo Ojo, CEO of Jumia Nigeria.

The rollout includes a significant increase in pickup stations and delivery touchpoints across both established and emerging cities. Existing urban centres such as Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt have seen network density increase, while new and previously underserved locations are being integrated into Jumia’s logistics grid. This broader footprint is supported by investments towards parcel distribution centres, designed to decentralise inventory flow, reduce delivery time, and optimise operating costs across regions.

As part of the expansion, Jumia has also strengthened its logistics partnerships and delivery capacity, enabling more efficient last-mile fulfilment while creating income opportunities for a growing network of logistics partners and JForce agents. The company notes that these investments are critical to sustaining scale as order volumes increase across a more geographically diverse customer base.

Looking ahead, Jumia plans to extend its expansion into the South-East and South-South regions ahead of the peak retail season, further increasing its national coverage and reinforcing its position as a leading e-commerce platform in Nigeria.


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RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3Bn Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

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RHUCE, a new social platform designed for African creatives, has officially launched today, introducing a new model for how creators across the continent can turn their skills, learning, and content into income.

RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3B Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

RHUCE

As Africa’s creator economy, estimated at over $3 billion, continues to grow, millions of young people are building digital skills but struggle to convert them into sustainable opportunities. RHUCE aims to bridge this gap by combining professional identity, creator monetisation, and opportunity discovery in a single ecosystem.

“Across Africa, talent is everywhere, but opportunity is fragmented,” said Simeon Ifeoluwa Adeyanju, CEO of RHUCE Limited. “Creators are learning, building, and sharing their work, but they lack a structured way to turn that into visibility, credibility, and income.”

Unlike traditional platforms that prioritise virality or finished work, RHUCE enables users to document their growth in real time, transforming their learning journey into a living portfolio.

“We believe your journey is your greatest asset,” Adeyanju said. “On RHUCE, your growth becomes your portfolio, your consistency builds your credibility, and opportunities can discover you based on what you’re becoming, not just what you’ve done.”

The platform introduces a shift from application-based hiring to discovery-driven opportunities, where creators are matched with jobs, gigs, and collaborations based on their evolving skills and documented progress.

“Instead of chasing opportunities across WhatsApp groups, DMs, and multiple platforms, we’ve built a system where you can post once and be discovered continuously,” he added.

RHUCE also provides monetisation tools that allow creators to earn through digital products, paid learning content, and brand-sponsored campaigns, unlocking new income streams within Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.

With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, the platform positions itself as infrastructure for the continent’s next generation of talent.

“RHUCE is not just a platform for finished professionals,” Adeyanju said. “It is for people becoming something. Our goal is simple: help Africans turn learning into opportunity, and opportunity into income.”


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Kaspersky Warns of Digital Medicine Risks on the Occasion of World Health Day

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On World Health Day, Kaspersky warns of risks tied to the digitisation of healthcare and use of telemedicine. Recent incidents show that medical services can be breached, and as a result, medical records may be leaked and then traded on the dark web.

The operations of healthcare services can get disrupted. Another aspect is that healthcare platforms may share user data with third parties that handle it irresponsibly.

Telemedicine has moved from a convenience to a core part of healthcare delivery, but its security model has not kept pace with its adoption, and the risks are not theoretical. Recent incidents highlight how real these risks have become.

In 2023, it was disclosed that Cerebral, a major telehealth provider focused on mental health services, had been sharing sensitive patient data – including mental health assessments, intake information, and personal identifiers – with third-party platforms such as social media and advertising networks. Millions of users were affected over several years.

More broadly, incidents in 2025 illustrate a different but equally critical risk – large-scale disruption of digital healthcare infrastructure. The breach of the ManageMyHealth patient portal exposed sensitive medical records of more than 120,000 patients, while the attack on SimonMed Imaging compromised over a million records and led to ransomware demands. These cases show that both telemedicine platforms and the broader digital healthcare ecosystems are increasingly targeted by attackers.

In parallel, scam campaigns focusing on medical topics are evolving, inviting patients for check-ups or follow-up consultations. Often the domains of the alleged “medical services” websites were created just a few weeks ago, links to the social media accounts on their pages are not working, and the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy pages are absent.

At the same time, these pages request users’ personal information, including photos of documents and even photos of parts of the body that need medical attention. Such websites often try to convince users with branding, fake doctor profiles, and urgent calls to action.

Users risk submitting sensitive personal data that can be either sold on the dark web, be used for identity theft, or subsequently used in more sophisticated attacks in the future that are targeted specifically at them for further data extortion.

To safeguard sensitive data, use a reliable security solution with an AI-powered anti-phishing component which prevents clicking on malicious links.

“The digital healthcare experience is transforming access to care, but it is also expanding the attack surface in ways many users underestimate. Medical data is highly valuable and actively traded on the dark web, making patients a prime target for fraud and targeted phishing.

“At the same time, health-related scams exploit urgency and trust, using fake consultations or discounted offers to trick users into sharing sensitive information. Patients should approach digital healthcare with the same caution as financial services – verifying providers, avoiding unsolicited links, and understanding how their data is used. Security and privacy must become a core part of the digital healthcare experience,” comments Anna Larkina, Web Content and Privacy Analysis Expert at Kaspersky.


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