Telecom
ESET Bags BoICT 2018 Information Security Company of the Year Award
ESET has emerged the Best Information Security Company of the Year at Beacon of ICT awards 2018, duly for the dedication to developing high-performing security solutions for home users and corporate customers, predicting, preventing, detecting and remediating all known and emerging forms of cybersecurity threats.
The Company took home the prestigious award two years in a row after topping other challengers during the online voting, the BoICT Awards organisers said.
ESET is notable for her extensive line of solutions which protect across all types of environments and platforms from computers and servers to mobile devices, helping their clients maintain maximum protection across all types of environments.
According to Mr. Ken Nwogbo, Founder/Editor In-Chief, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, the superior detection capabilities, low system requirements of the Company’ solutions, coupled with the local presence and premium support services to their clients, irrespective of the company size came to play even as the products are priced among independent antimalware testing organizations.
Mr. Nwogbo further described the award as a testament to array of talents at ESET Nigeria who are constantly innovating and contributing their quota to the growth of the ICT industry, adding “we are at Communications Week Media are happy that Nigerians have recognized ESET’s hard work, sincerity and dedication towards the defense of the of industry”.
“Our researches also show that ESET has an extensive partner and reseller network spanning more than 200 countries worldwide.
“This is huge and impressive. Gartner, this year, rated ESET as the only Challenger in the Gartner Magic Quadrant Report and in Nigeria, Deloitte recognised ESET to have grown by 274% in the last five years. This is an award well deserved”.
Commenting shortly after collecting the award, Mr. Olufemi Ake, the country manager, dedicated the award to the numerous ESET loyal customers in the country.
He also appreciated the team for their consistency and resilience over the years. “We are happy that Nigerians recognized our efforts in offering a full range of business and consumer products.
“In fact, more than 95% of our customers in Nigeria are retained annually. This says a lot about our commitment to providing proactive protection and enviable technical support service to existing customers.
“Our product ranges from Endpoint Security, Server Security (both File Server and Mail Security for Exchange Server), Access Protection (Two-Factor Authentication), Data Loss Prevention, Encryption, Mobile Device Management, Patch Management and Threat Detection & Management.
“ESET has over 120 active partners in Nigeria and over 95% of sales generated since the past nine years were made through these partners”.
“ESET Nigeria continuously prioritize educating the citizens on the importance of IT security of their personal and work devices over any other objective in the region hence have invested in projects such as ESET Secure School over the years which has provided over 100,000 copies of premium IT security solutions free for the academia and still running.
“The initiative is available for interested Secondary and tertiary institutions so as to ensure adequate management and protection of their resources and assets over the internet and as they transfer data between devices”, the Country Manager said.
ESET Enterprise Security Solution is currently the most acceptable security outfit with their unequal local presence in Nigeria and support for organisations and government in reducing the alarming losses to cyber criminals and downtime from such breach.
Telecom
FG Plans EO to Criminalise Fiber Cable Damage Costing Telcos Billions
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telecom
Telegram Eyes 1Bn Users amidst Political Pressures
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
Telecom
NITDA, NIMC Announce Collaboration To Strengthen Digital Economy
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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