E-Business
Google, Intel, Others Form IEEE’s Software Design Center
The IEEE Computer Society, an association for computing professionals, has launched a cybersecurity initiative with the aim of expanding its ongoing involvement in cybersecurity, according to InfoSecurity report.
As part of that initiative, the IEEE Center for Secure Design (CSD) has been formed, welcoming experts from a diverse group of organizations to discuss software security design flaws that they had identified in their own internal design reviews.
Proper security design has been the Achilles’ heel of security engineering for decades, mostly because it is difficult and requires deep expertise beyond simply identifying vulnerabilities, the report contained.
As part of its coming out celebration, CSD has offered an assessment of the top 10 most significant software security design issues that occur.
“The Center for Secure Design will play a key role in refocusing software security on some of the most challenging open design problems in security,” said Neil Daswani of the security engineering team at Twitter, in a statement. “By putting focus on security design and not just focusing on implementation bugs in code, the CSD does even the most advanced companies in the space a huge service.”
Participants in the foundational workshop included representatives from Twitter; Google; Cigital; HP; the Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of Argentina; George Washington University; Intel/McAfee; RSA; University of Washington; Izar Tarandach, EMC; Cigital; Harvard University; and Athens University of Economics and Business.
In terms of security design pitfalls, they came up with the such positions as earn or give, but never assume, trust; use an authentication mechanism that cannot be bypassed or tampered with; authorize after you authenticate and strictly separate data and control instructions, and never process control instructions received from untrusted sources.
They also said, define an approach that ensures all data are explicitly validated; use cryptography correctly; identify sensitive data and how they should be handled; always consider the users; understand how integrating external components changes your attack surface and be flexible when considering future changes to objects and actors.
The group has laid out details on each of these on the website.
For instance, in terms of data validation, CSD explained that software systems and components commonly make assumptions about data they operate on.
It is important to explicitly ensure that such assumptions hold: Vulnerabilities frequently arise from implicit assumptions about data, which can be exploited if an attacker can subvert and invalidate these assumptions.
As such, it is important to design software systems to ensure that comprehensive data validation actually takes place and that all assumptions about data have been validated when they are used.
“Bugs and flaws are two very different types of security defects,” said Gary McGraw, CTO at Cigital. “We believe there has been quite a bit more focus on common bugs than there has been on secure design and the avoidance of flaws, which is worrying since design flaws account for 50% of software security issues. The IEEE Center for Secure Design allows us a chance to refocus, to gather real data, and to share our results with the world at large,” the InfoSecurity Magazine contained.
Nigerian government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced a strategic collaboration to strengthen cybersecurity and clean up the nation’s cyberspace.
Recognizing that cybercrime knows no borders, Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering stronger global partnerships within the cybersecurity ecosystem.
This announcement was made during a press conference before the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Abuja from July 9th to 11th, 2025.
Sa’ad Abubakar, national cybersecurity coordinator from the Office of National Security Advisor, said fighting cybercrime must take the whole of society and the whole of the government approach.
According to him, “Apart from the deterrent approach whereby government agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest individuals, take them to court and prosecute them, the youth can be nurtured into better citizens who can showcase their capacity in better ways and be useful to the country.”
Similarly, Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, also stressed the need for collaborative efforts in fighting cybercrimes.
According to him “Then, in addition to that, we also want to build a stronger global collaboration with the global cyber security ecosystem, because when you look at cybercrime in general, it doesn’t respect the borders.
“Someone can commit a crime from Ghana using a Nigerian ID in the US. So you can look at him physically in a different jurisdiction, pretending to be in another jurisdiction, committing the crime in another jurisdiction.
“So without that kind of synergy and working together, it will be difficult to address these challenges. The third one is challenge. The third one is getting an alternative to cybercrime for our kids in Nigeria. We have this as a major challenge.”
Inuwa further highlighted the upcoming conference’s importance, noting that it would tackle key issues through workshops, discussions on emerging threats, cross-border cybersecurity collaboration strategies, and training programmes.
He also announced that the National Cybersecurity Conference 2025 would feature the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognising top contributions in the field.
The DG extended an invitation to global partners to collaborate with Nigeria in building a safer digital future.
The press conference was attended by notable figures, including Ahmad Sa’ad Abubakar, National Coordinator of, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC); Hanniel Jafar, Representative of the President, of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); Ankit Shukla, Managing Director, QNA Marketing Management LLC and members of the press and other stakeholders.
XIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% stake in pan-African e-commerce company Jumia Technologies, citing the platform’s fintech and logistics strengths as key drivers of its backing.
This marks the first major telecom investment in Jumia since MTN Group’s exit in 2020.
AXIAN, a fast-growing telecom and digital services provider with operations across Africa, disclosed the purchase in a Schedule 13D filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
While the financial terms were not disclosed, AXIAN Telecom CEO, Hassan Jaber, described the move as a strategic alignment with Jumia’s growth trajectory and digital ecosystem.
“Jumia’s achievements in digital retail and fintech, particularly through JumiaPay and its logistics network, make it a very attractive investment for us. We believe in Jumia’s potential to promote financial and economic inclusion, which aligns with our core values,” said Jaber.
Once dubbed the “Amazon of Africa,” Jumia became the first African-founded tech company to list on the New York Stock Exchange in 2019.
But years of underperformance, leadership changes, and competitive pressures dented investor confidence.
In October 2020, South Africa’s MTN Group offloaded its 18.9% stake for $138 million, well below the $698 million value it once held post-IPO.
Since then, Jumia has undergone a significant transformation. Under CEO Francis Dufay, appointed in 2022, the company exited low-performing markets like South Africa and Tunisia, cut costs, and doubled down on core markets – Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco.
The firm is now focused on high-growth verticals, including everyday essentials and digital financial services.
Jumia’s regional CEO for East Africa, Vinod Goel, recently revealed plans to scale up international brand offerings and open its logistics network to third-party businesses.
Jaber underscored that AXIAN Telecom’s investment signals renewed confidence in Jumia’s long-term potential.
The telecom firm’s CEO said the company views Jumia as a key player in advancing Africa’s digital economy, aligning with AXIAN’s mission through its fintech and digital infrastructure brands such as Yas and Mixx by Yas.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general, National Identity management commission (NIMC) has said that the commission is set to register 95 percent of Nigerians into the National Identity Database before December 2025.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote,, DG, NIMC
She made this statement at a press briefing to highlight the commissions goal aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly on digital governance and inclusive development.
The mass enrollment drive will be powered by a combination of improved infrastructure, expanded registration centres, and robust public sensitization campaigns.
As of May 2025, NIMC reports over 120 million Nigerians have been enrolled, and about 100 million more would be captured by December.
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