E-Business
Eliminate Wasting Time and Act in Real Time

A sudden technical problem in an organisation, especially during business hours, can cause havoc for an IT department as it is not usually prepared for it, nor does it immediately know what the exact cause of the disruption may be.
This is according to Anton Jacobsz, managing director at Networks Unlimited, an authorised distributor of NETSCOUT solutions throughout Africa.
Jacobsz said, “There is no value, in such a crisis, in having the IT department internally trying to apportion blame between the network engineer versus the network technician or service provider. Instead, the IT department should have a system in place that avoids such ‘finger pointing’ and enables seamless and continuous operation, as well as effective preparation in the case of a crisis.”
Visibility for network engineers
Jacobsz said that network engineers need to be aware of as many touch points to the data as possible, especially with applications that are hosted in the Cloud.
Data sources throughout the network need to be leveraged to provide an overall picture of how services and applications are performing. NetFlow, SNMP, stream to disk packet capture, automated data mining and application performance alerting need to be used system wide to stay on top of performance and security threats, while providing IT professionals with actionable data in the event of a problem.
There are simply too many changing technologies for the network engineer to keep up with at an expert level. In view of this, the network engineer needs to rely on automated analysis tools to provide direction on problem alerting, isolation, and root cause resolution.
In order to validate, troubleshoot, and restore these systems, network engineers require visibility to take the right action in the right place, which ultimately saves the company money and prevents downtime.
Monitoring and analysis by network operators/ technicians
Before a new system goes live, it should be monitored and analysed by network operators using management and monitoring systems and tools.
There are major benefits to implementing these management systems – first, technicians will be able to keep step with a highly dynamic network environment, which places greater demands on their role.
These demands include application problem resolution and analysis of network components, which cannot be accessed in the Cloud.
In today’s critical network environments, technicians cannot continue to lean on legacy systems that only display up/ down status and ping response times. This data cannot facilitate finding the root cause of slow application response and often does not allow the problem to be isolated and resolved.
Preparation by service providers
This is a key to success, in addition to constant skill updates and the ability to be flexible and adaptable. Service providers need to establish and execute on some critical best practices to keep ahead of the complexity and to provide the highest level of service and support to their clients.
Key areas to focus on for best practice execution include:
- Pre-deployment assessment;
- Installation and test; and
- Documentation and reporting.
Service provider field teams can improve project scoping and estimates, reduce call-backs and issues, and ensure satisfaction that results in prompt payment, additional service opportunities and referral business, by focusing on these three areas.
“It is important that IT divisions within the region’s enterprises are as efficient as possible in order for them to not only compete on a global scale, but to also, ultimately, have a bigger impact on the local economy. We are proud to have this kind of real-time service assurance and cybersecurity solution available to the African market, “ concluded Jacobsz.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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