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CommsWeek, CBT Develop App to Fight Hate Speech

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Communication Week Media Limited, publishers of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, and Core Business Technologies Limited (CBT) have developed mobile phone application to enable the public to report hate speech in a bid to curb the spread of extremism and sectarianism.

 

Hate speech is speech which attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as race, religion, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, or gender.

 

According to Ken Nwogbo, a Nigerian newspaper columnist, ICT Journalist and founder, Communication Week Media Limited, the App aims primarily to tackle the impunity of hate crimes.

 

“Hate speech is clear and present evil, the many wars across the world were caused by the crimes of hate speech, that was why we partnered with CBT, arguably one of Nigeria’s solution-oriented, dynamic and indigenous Information Technology and Solutions service provider to develop this App” Nwogbo added.

 

Compatible with both Android and iOS operating systems, the App called “Pana” tackles hate speech by establishing monitoring and evaluation units in the App.

 

Edward Essien, CEO of CBT, said “I do not support capital punishment for hate speech, that is why we developed the App to nip it in the bud. By sentencing hate speech offender to maximum penalty, the government is inadvertently promoting hate speech”

 

“By that, the government is promoting one section of the society against the other, the best thing to do it trace and trap such speech” he added.

 

The app enables citizens to report anonymously extremist speeches, banners or activities wherever they notice them. Users can send pictures, audio, video or a written message.

 

Such data and information received can be shared with police and other law-enforcement and regulatory authorities.

 


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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Oracle Sacks 12,000 in India, Begins Shift to AI

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Oracle, US-based technology giant, has initiated a sweeping round of layoffs affecting thousands of employees globally, with India among the worst-hit regions, according to multiple reports.

Oracle Sacks 12,000 in India, Begins Shift to AI

The job cuts, which began on March 31, are part of a broader restructuring exercise that could impact between 20,000 and 30,000 employees worldwide, making it one of the largest workforce reductions in the company’s history.

While the exact number remains unconfirmed, multiple reports  suggest that around 12,000 employees in India have been affected,

Employees across several geographies, including India, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, reported receiving termination emails early in the morning, informing them that their roles had been eliminated with immediate effect.

“Today is your last working day,” the email stated, citing “organisational change” as the reason for the decision. Access to company systems, including email and internal platforms, was revoked shortly thereafter.

The communication, according to Business Insider, described the move as part of a broader “reduction in force and other terminations,” and said affected employees would be eligible for severance benefits subject to company policy.

The email also instructed employees to share personal contact details to receive separation documents.

In India, impacted employees have reportedly been offered severance packages that include 15 days’ salary for each completed year of service, notice period pay, leave encashment, gratuity where applicable, and an additional two-month salary top-up in cases of voluntary separation.

The layoffs are linked to Oracle’s strategic shift towards artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure.

The company has announced plans to invest approximately USD 50 billion in AI infrastructure and has reportedly raised an equivalent amount in debt to fund its expansion.

In a recent regulatory filing, Oracle said it expects restructuring costs for fiscal 2026 to reach up to USD 2.1 billion, largely driven by severance payouts and related expenses.

The move comes as Oracle looks to strengthen its position against global cloud competitors such as Amazon and Alphabet.

Uncertainty continues to loom over employees, with reports indicating that another round of layoffs could follow in the coming weeks. Employees who were affected described the layoffs as abrupt, with little prior indication.

Some former staff members have taken to social media to share their experiences.

Tricia S Marsh, a former Senior Principal at Oracle, said the layoffs marked the end of an important chapter in her career while urging affected colleagues to remain hopeful.

As of May 2025, Oracle had around 162,000 full-time employees globally.


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Kaspersky Warns of a New Phishing Technique Leveraging Bubble, a no-code AI Platform

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Kaspersky has discovered a new phishing tactic used to evade traditional security controls that exploits Bubble, a platform that allows users to build web and mobile applications through a visual interface without writing code.

Attackers are increasingly adopting innovative tools designed for legitimate software development and repurposing them to boost phishing campaigns.

Traditional phishing attacks often rely on malicious links or obvious redirection techniques, which are typically flagged and blocked by modern security systems.

However, attackers are now leveraging Bubble’s no-code environment to generate intermediary web applications which are hosted on Bubble’s legitimate infrastructure and trusted domains such as *.bubble.io, which improves their credibility and helps them bypass security filters.

These applications function as disguised redirectors, silently forwarding victims to malicious credential-harvesting websites.

In the observed campaign, victims were ultimately redirected to a convincing imitation of a Microsoft login page, protected by a Cloudflare verification layer designed to further obscure malicious intent.

This technique is likely being integrated into broader phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platforms and phishing kits. These kits enable a wide range of malicious capabilities with ready-made tools, including real-time interception of session cookies, driving phishing campaigns through legitimate services such as Google Tasks and Google Forms, and carry out adversary-in-the-middle (AiTM) attacks that can bypass multi-factor authentication.

They also support the generation of phishing emails using AI, implement geo-filtering and anti-detection mechanisms to evade security crawlers and are often hosted on reputable cloud services like AWS to avoid blacklisting.

“The use of legitimate platforms like Bubble introduces a new level of trust abuse, making it harder for both users and automated systems to distinguish between safe and malicious content. This significantly increases the likelihood of credential theft, unauthorised access and potential data breaches,” comments Roman Dedenok, Anti-Spam Expert at Kaspersky.

 

 


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NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

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Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.

NITDA Takes Over National Digital Architecture System

The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.

The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.

The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.

With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.

This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.

Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.

These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.

Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.

The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.

Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.

 

 


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