Konga Health in partnership with L’Oréal, a global leader in premium skincare, has announced the appointment of prospective authorized professional resellers of its high-demand products.

This exciting opportunity offers structured Nigerian retailers, wholesalers, healthcare professionals, and structured online sellers a chance to join the growing network of resellers for world-renowned brands such as CeraVe, La Roche-Posay and others.

The partnership between L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty and Konga Health has been instrumental in bringing genuine top-tier skincare solutions to the Nigerian market. With a commitment to providing access to premium, dermatologist-recommended skincare products, this new initiative is set to expand the brand’s presence while offering businesses a profitable opportunity to grow their offerings.

This initiative is open to various business models, whether you’re a retail store, an online seller, a wholesaler, or a healthcare professional—be it a dermatologist, pharmacist, or aesthetician.

The beauty industry has shown tremendous growth globally, and partnering with L’Oréal through Konga Health presents a unique chance to expand your portfolio with premium skincare brands that practically sell themselves.

L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty is known for its science-backed products, trusted by dermatologists and healthcare professionals around the world.

Joining this network of professional resellers means gaining access to some of the most highly regarded skincare products, enabling resellers to meet the growing demand for effective, high-quality skincare solutions.

As an authorized reseller, businesses will benefit from a number of advantages. These include high-profit margins, pre- and post-sales support, comprehensive marketing materials, and product training.

Additionally, the L’Oréal Dermatological Beauty brand enjoys strong nationwide recognition, ensuring that resellers can tap into a large and loyal customer base.

To apply, interested businesses and healthcare professionals should visit: konga.com/resellers, email – [email protected] or call 0907 003 8627 for more information. Applications are open to both new and existing businesses seeking to enhance their offerings and tap into the growing demand for premium skincare products.

National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has restated its commitments to strengthen the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) of Nigerian innovators and inventors to boost the creative ability of people to develop solutions to the many challenges confronting the people.

Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general of NOTAP, made this known in a news conference in Abuja recently to commemorate the   2024  African Day  for Technology and Intellectual Property  Rights, with the theme “Leveraging Technology and IPRs to Drive the Renewed Hope Agenda”

The NOTAP boss  said  the  commemoration,  observed by all African countries  on September 13 every year,  is important because  it will help to facilitate  the domestication of  technology and the development of IPRs in African states  to assist people to develop  solutions  to the many  challenges  confronting the continent  to eradicate  poverty and drive  sustainable development.

Amadiobi said that “NOTAP as an agency has the added responsibility of promoting inventions and innovations of Nigerian researchers and has not failed in pursuing the mandate especially in sensitising the research community and the general public on the vital role of IPR in Nigeria’s technological development.”

She noted that  these responsibilities were carried out through the establishment of over sixty-five (65) Intellectual Property and Technology Transfers Offices (IPTIOs) across the length and breadth of Nigeria;

Processing of over one thousand (1,000) patent applications received and submitted to the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry; Granting of assistance to researchers at no cost in the acquisition of over three hundred (300) patent certificates from the Nigerian Patent and Design Registry.

She added that 70 of these patent certificates have been commercialised in the Nigerian markets and five (5) in the international markets; while the agency has also launched and distributed  publication on “Guidelines for Commercialization of R&D results in Nigeria”; Identification and publishing of a compendium of viable R&D results from various research sectors in Nigeria and Sustained engagements with stakeholders in the National Innovation System (NIS) to facilitate the commercialization of viable R&D products.

She said that an initiative has been taken to develop market ready products and industry trained academia through NOTAP, Industry and Academia linkage project as NOTAP- Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) which has successfully witnessed the engagement of 21 fellows, viable products and generation of valuable Patents.

“To strengthen research and development infrastructure, NOTAP is also engaging the private sector to upgrade laboratories in various tertiary institutions across the country,” she added.

She also reaffirmed NOTAP’s commitment to guiding the process of technology transfer and promotion of IPRs to shore up indigenous inventors and innovators in order to drive progress and harness the benefits of innovation and creativity for the development of Nigeria to build a greater future for us all.

Insider threat reverberates in Cybervergent half year cyber threat report between January and June 2024 released over the weekend. According the report, “often underestimated and underestimated, insider threats are like the silent assassins in the gym, packing a knockout punch despite always being overlooked.

“In the first half of 2024 there has been a 50% increase in successful Insider threat attacks within Nigeria alone. Unlike external attackers who rely on fancy footwork and social engineering jabs, insider threats have a secret weapon – trusted access.

“They’re already inside the gym, bypassing security ropes with their legitimate credentials. They know the routines, the weaknesses in the defenses, and can land a surprise blow before anyone notices,” the report stated.

Analyzing the report, Mr. Gbolabo Awelewa, the Chief Solutions Officer at Cybervergent, classified the different types of insider threats to include꞉

Disgruntled Employees꞉ Motivated by anger, financial gain, or a feeling of being benched, these individuals can inflict serious damage.

Accidental Insiders꞉ These are the athletes who forget their water bottles and leave the locker room door open – a simple mistake with potentially big consequences. They highlight the importance of solid security training programs.

Negligent Insiders꞉ These are the gym rats who forget their water bottles and leave the locker room door open – an employee working from a public space and leaving his/her laptop unlocked to dash to the restroom or pick a call; a simple mistake with potentially big consequences. They highlight the importance of solid security training programs.

Credential Compromise꞉ Insiders with compromised credentials, either through phishing scams or malware, become unwitting accomplices, letting attackers into the gym through the back door.

Industrial Espionage꞉ Competitors or foreign agents might try to recruit insiders to steal your intellectual property – like spying on your secret training techniques.

The report also revealed how Cybervergent detected 586,130 attacks on organizations that it manages in Nigeria.

Among the 586,130 attacks launched on various organizations, Cybervergent was able to resolve 226,103 of the attacks by automation, while 19,920 endpoints were protected by Cybervergent.

According to the report, events analysed by Cybervergent’s Security Operations Centre (SOC), reached 304,522, while all potentially malicious events analysed by Cybervergent within the same six months period, reached 42,200.

Mr Awelewa said with the increasing threat in the cyberspace, organizations must ensure that regular application and systems updates are carried out on existing applications and systems to prevent the attacks at scale.

Highlighting the threat actors that targeted Nigeria in the first half of the year, Awelwewa listed them to include: Gelsemium, Equation Group, Lyceum, Gamaredon, Circus Spider, Mirage, Common Raven, Bronze Highland, Earth Krahang, as well as Insider Threat Syndrome.

According to him, Gelsemium is a sophisticated cyber espionage group known for its targeted attacks on high‑profile organisations across various sectors.

“They use custom malware and advanced techniques to evade detection, and their target is on public administration, educational services and national security,” he said.

The also spotted common cyber challenges where organizations were struggling such as: Outdated Equipment꞉ Legacy systems were holding many organizations back, making them easy targets for modern cyber threats.

Limited Resources꞉ Smaller organizations and even some larger ones were struggling to afford the right equipment (security tools) and trainers (skilled personnel) for a comprehensive workout.

Lack of Knowledge꞉ Many organizations were uninformed about the latest fitness trends (security standards) like ISO 27001꞉2022, CBN Frameworks, and PCI DSS 4.0, leaving them vulnerable to injury (a data breach).

Human Error꞉ Insufficient training led to avoidable errors, opening the door for cyber attackers.