E-Business
Nigeria Needs Cyber security Office for Effective Coordination – Makatiani

William Makatiani, managing director, Serianu, recently visited Nigeria and spoke to chike Onwuegbuchi on cyber security issues
Africa is playing catch-up in cyber security
We are not prepared in Africa. The problem we have in Africa is that, we like to do easy things fast. Easy thing means deploy technology, some vendors will come and tell you this thing works in the US, put it in place and we put it in-place. The problem with that is you never get to look at security.
Security is complicated because there is local aspect around securing systems, most of our fraudsters live here, most of the banks that lose money are in Nigeria, in Ghana, in Kenya among others and those that perpetrate these frauds are within those environments. There is no way somebody will come from the US and secure it, that is the hard work. We need somebody to understand how these people are doing it.
Only locals can do it, those are the difficult things, implementation of the system is easier and those are the things we are focusing on.
When it comes to preparation we are not ready because we don’t have enough skills. Secondly, we are not ready because we are not collaborating. If you are Bank A and I’m Bank B, if you get compromised you keep quiet if it is insured you go get compensated and you will not tell Bank B and Bank B will get hit, it really empowering the hackers now they know they can get away with all these attacks.
Third issue is Malware- malicious software. We are not training our people well enough. You get an employee, an assistant to the chief executive officer, the CEO tells his assist if you get an email click on it, print it for me let me see what it is. Now, they are clicking on malicious links. Immediately they click they get Ransonware and get compromised and Ransonware takes over the network as you are looking at that our curriculum in the universities are old.
There is no single individual that can come from our traditional university that will be able to get into cyber security field without additional preparation.
We have those gaps. When you think of where we are headed and we need to ask ourselves how do we address it?
Our board members does not understand technology, if you tell them about the safe, that somebody is getting into the safe they will understand, but the safe is no longer save. The database is the new safe, if a board member cannot understand that Oracle database is the new safe there is pretty much they can be able to secure, so if I tell them I want to secure Oracle database, they will say last year we bought a router this year we have bought a firewall why are we buying something new? They will say no, but the padlock we bought for the safe last year was good but has gone out of the market we need a new padlock, that padlock will cover our database which is Oracle. This is the language we need to get to our board members.
The language technical people are taking to board members and senior managers is out dated, you cannot talk technology to somebody who spend his time playing golf or somebody who spends his time looking at financial statements you need to come up with something that is comparative.
From a typical corporate perspective the question is how do we change? If you come to global cyber security problem you have three steps.
First is, understanding what is happening; second is attributing it to an individual and third is how do we stop that individual?
In understanding in Africa, we are trying our best but we are 20 per cent, this has to do with deploying of technology to understand what is going on in the network. When it comes to attribution we are poor just 2 per cent , there is no single attack that has be successful being attributed very few, because these individuals came out and say it happened like this or this is what led to this or that.
If it comes to attribution of attacks happening in different countries in Africa it is not easy to attribute it to somebody, attribution is a challenge.
Deterrent requires law enforcement and it is where we are really struggling. Law enforcement agents are not working together you find judiciary, national intelligence or Army, they don’t know how to coordinate this issue of cyber security so that they can be able to attribute most of the bigger attacks to somebody. That is the biggest cyber security problem and that is where we are facing challenge.
Issues of lack of collaboration
The reason why there isn’t much collaboration is because of fear. For instance, with the private sector such as banks there is this fear that customers will run away, we don’t want people to know they have stolen from me, it is an African problem. Africans we don’t want sharing our things in public.
We have to move beyond where we are and only regulation will force people to talk to each other. If you get compromised, it is okay. It is normal let us know so that we allow other people to learn from that experience. That is the key.
Most of these law enforcement officials don’t coordinate because some of them don’t know. We also need to be very clear in terms of who is responsible for what, if you are an investigation agency, we need to know where you start and where you stop. If you are in national intelligence services, you need to help us develop intelligence on why banks are getting attacked, who is attacking and who is benefit from these money that is where you start and ones you get it you empower the police who are going out to investigate some of these crimes so that they can be able to be addressed.
If you are in the army you need to have intelligence to know if it is a state problem, if the hackers are coming from Ghana, Ukrane, Ruwanda or Kenya, you need to look at that and say how do we coordinate this? And then empower the prosecution and the judges so that they can make a clear case of what is going on when and how. That is the type of collaboration we need.
Impact of different regulatory agencies in the fight against cyber crime
If you have a cyber-security office which in Nigeria is lacking, this will have an incumbent who is responsible for cyber security policy in the country like we are seeing in the UK, South Africa among others, where you have office of the cyber security incumbent who could coordinate all these issues.
It can become a problem if it is political, he can’t do much. That is why it is allowed to run just like Attorney general.
The biggest problem with cyber security office depends on where it sits. For countries where it is located in the judiciary it works very well, because the whole idea is to be able to oppressionalize the security laws and if it is located under the attorney general it works very well. If you move it into ICT ministry it fails, if you move it into NIS or national security Agency it fails.
Cyber security law
Cyber security changes very fast, four years ago we didn’t know about Ransomeware, we didn’t know about cryptomining, cryptomining is a biggest thing now. What we see across the world is instead of us to focus on technology, we focus on particulars of crimes which means at the end of the day it is fraud, unauthorised access, there is sabotage and those were the results of somebody coming in and compromising in an environment.
Most of our laws are copy and paste especially from Malaysia, Singerpole. We copy our laws from those countries across Africa and if you look at the laws we have in place, they focus a lot on tools and techniques and that is what is out-dated.
The tools, techniques and processes of attacking have changed. We have to change from focusing so much on tools, techniques and processes and focus on fraud say somebody did A,B,C,D whichever way they did it, it is still a fraud.
Criminals 100 years ago were interested in stealing money, information about you, interested in making sure you don’t move, it is the same thing today. Criminal are interested in stealing money from banks, making sure you don’t provide service, interested in stealing Intellectual Property (IP) or private data. In terms of motive they have not changed, intentions have not changed and therefore we have to build flexible laws that address motives, intensions and the principles of what the laws are trying to achieve to deter.
Building Cyber security Skills in Organisations to Fight Cyber-attacks
If I were an ambitious leader, I will cancel quite a number of technology programmes in our curriculum, they are wasting time. Get in touch with the industry, get some professional from other countries, look at the areas of artificial intelligent, analytics, look at the areas of cyber security build practical programmes.
Start with forcing graduates to do one to two year programme where they learn practical, set up research foundations behind these new technologies, because if you don’t do it now, even smaller countries like Rwanda, Botswana Mauritius will be more powerful than bigger countries like even South Africa, Nigeria. In some of these areas, the problem is to start early.
Number one thing is to change the curriculum, the curriculum we have now is useless. Yes, it builds the people to the level where you can convert them, but it doesn’t build the curiosity to continue building your capability into analytics crypto. If you look at the curriculums of those in the United States, UK and Europe even Rwanda and Mauritius you now see the embedding of these new technologies and new media. First of all you have to start with that.
Number two, it is unfortunate the tools most of the professional we have in the market place are bringing are out-dated. The days of sitting somewhere looking at risk on huge template are gone, if you are going to lose money you lose money through the payment system, through a card or fund and risks starts there. And you fall back who is likely to do it? That has changed, now employees need to change, they don’t need to sit down in class, but they need to look at what they are doing, what is changing in the industry and then retrain in terms of approach.
E-Business
Report Reveals Over Half of Security Experts Overwhelmed Managing Cybersecurity Tools from Multiple Vendors

The majority of companies (78%) surveyed in South Africa and in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region, rely on multi-vendor ecosystems despite the fact that such fragmented security solutions lead to operational and financial strains. Such findings were revealed in recent Kaspersky research.
A study titled “Improving resilience: Cybersecurity through system immunity,” conducted by Kaspersky, examined how organisations manage cybersecurity today, focusing on vendor fragmentation, operational inefficiencies and future consolidation plans.
The survey was conducted across the META region, as well as in Europe, Russia, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of cybersecurity management across organisations, highlighting significant challenges associated with multi-vendor security environments.
The findings reveal that nearly half of security professionals (44%) surveyed in the META region find their security stacks to be overly complex and time-consuming to maintain, which hampers their ability to respond swiftly to emerging threats.
This complexity often results from the use of multiple security solutions from different vendors, each with its own management interface and operational requirements.
Furthermore, 49% of organisations surveyed in the META region experience budget overruns attributable to overlapping solutions.
These redundancies not only inflate costs but also complicate resource allocation and strategic planning. Compatibility issues exacerbate these difficulties as 43% of respondents indicate that they cannot automate security processes effectively because their tools lack proper integration, leading to manual interventions and increased chances of human error.
Additionally, 39% struggle with inconsistent threat visibility, as data collected from various vendors often fails to correlate seamlessly, creating blind spots and reducing overall situational awareness.
Despite these persistent challenges, the majority of organisations continue to operate within multi-vendor environments – 78% in the META region and in South Africa currently manage security across multiple providers.
Interestingly, 43% in META and in South Africa believe that a single cybersecurity provider could sufficiently meet all their needs, suggesting a recognition of the potential benefits of consolidation.
However, only 22% in the META region and 23% in South Africa have adopted a single-vendor approach in practice, reflecting a cautious approach driven by concerns over over-reliance on one supplier or the perceived risks associated with vendor lock-in.
The landscape is rapidly shifting toward consolidation: an overwhelming 88% of firms in the META region and 84% in South Africa are actively moving in this direction, over a third (34% in META and 39% in South Africa) have already begun merging their security tools into unified platforms, while an additional 55% in META and 45% in South Africa plan to do so within the next two years.
This trend underscores a strategic shift toward simplifying cybersecurity operations, reducing costs, and achieving more effective threat management through integrated solutions. As organisations increasingly recognise the advantages of streamlined security architectures, the move toward vendor consolidation is poised to reshape the cybersecurity landscape in the near future.
“The data from our research indicates that many organisations rely on multiple vendors by default, rather than through deliberate strategic planning. While diversification of security solutions can offer certain benefits, such as risk mitigation and coverage breadth, an unchecked increase in complexity often leads to significant resource drain and operational inefficiencies.
Moreover, this complexity can create critical blind spots, making it harder to maintain comprehensive threat visibility and respond effectively to emerging risks.
The emerging trend toward consolidation reflects a maturation in cybersecurity strategies, emphasising the adoption of integrated platforms that streamline management, reduce manual effort, and enhance overall visibility into security posture,” said Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform product line at Kaspersky.
To enable comprehensive protection of all business assets and processes, Kaspersky experts recommend to use centralised and automated solutions such as Kaspersky Next XDR Expert.
By aggregating and correlating data from multiple sources in one place and using machine-learning technologies, this solution provides effective threat detection and fast automated response. Out-of-the-box integrations, automation features and case management help make infrastructure complexity much less of an issue.
E-Business
Africa Tasked to Fast-track AI Skills Development

Africa has been urged to fast-track the development of Artificial intelligence (AI) skill to benefit from its economic value. AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030 if the continent secures 10% of the global AI market, according to SAP, which sourced the statistic from online media.
However, a shortage of AI talent, with the need to retain cyber security and cloud skills, threatens to block opportunities to monetise growth.
This is part of a report released by SAP: ‘Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed’, which reveals that African organisations are rushing to enhance their traditional IT skills base in the wake of accelerating adoption of AI.
The report adds that while 94% of organisations offer monthly AI training, none currently allocate more than 10% of their HR or IT budgets to skills development, a sharp decline from 2022.
Genevieve Koolen, HR director at SAP Africa, said: “There is a near-universal need for AI-related skills among African companies this year. Since traditional IT skills such as cloud and cyber security related competencies remain in high demand, companies now face the dual challenge of attracting and retaining traditional tech talent while also building greater AI competencies within their businesses. It is unsurprising then that most African organisations provide career development opportunities for employees with AI specialisations.”
The report reveals that all companies surveyed expect the demand for AI skills to increase in 2025. Nearly half said they expect a ‘significant’ increase.
Koolen added that while there is an urgent need for policymakers and education institutions to fast-track AI skills development initiatives among Africa’s swelling youth population, companies also face pressure to equip existing workers with future-ready skills.
“Thirty-eight percent of companies surveyed said reskilling of employees is a top skills-related challenge for them in 2025, and nearly half said the same of upskilling. The impact of these changes creates its own challenges, as evidenced by the two-thirds of companies that said helping employees understand why reskilling is necessary is a top priority.”
Research also showed that African organisations are alive to the possibilities presented by AI-related innovation, with companies citing perceived value in improved decision-making (64%), marketing capabilities (51%) and innovation (47%) enabled by AI.
However, poor access to AI-ready skills is already causing negative impacts among the same companies, including failed innovation initiatives, delays completing projects, greater pressure on teams and an inability to take on new client projects.
“Organisations are rising to this challenge by increasing the frequency of training offered to employees, with 94% saying they offer training at least monthly,” said Koolen.
However, the latest data indicates a drop in the allocated budget for skills development.
In a previous survey conducted in 2022, a quarter of organisations said they spend more than 15% of their HR or IT budgets on skills development and training. This year, not a single organisation that formed part of the research spent more than 10%.
SAP lists several measures that companies can implement to ensure they cultivate the correct skills mix:
Be prepared: With universal demand for tech and AI-related skills and an ongoing skills scarcity, African organisations must prepare for a shortfall in critical AI-related skills this year.
“The moment calls for a pragmatic approach that combines longer-term skills development – including reskilling and upskilling – with short-term measures that alleviate some of the immediate pressures and creates space for more robust skills development initiatives. Organisations also need to take care to support employees through this uncertain period, for example, by using human capital management technologies that help HR teams identify concerns.”
Prioritise training: Koolen said it is surprising that budget allocations for training and skills development appear to be shrinking. “Too many digital transformation and innovation initiatives fail to deliver the expected business value due to a lack of appropriate skills.
“In light of the rapid pace of technological advancement, any organisation that fails to invest in skills will likely find they are unprepared and unable to leverage new innovations. In time, this will erode their competitiveness and lead to significant impacts to the bottom line.”
Instead, organisations should place skills development at the core of their business strategies to ensure a steady stream of work-ready talent and invest sufficient budget to guarantee high-quality outcomes for employees and the business.
Partner well: While Africa has the fastest-growing youth population of any continent, there are still significant systemic challenges with equipping youth with adequate work-ready skills.
“Africa’s ability to reap the benefits of AI-related innovation rests on broader public-private sector efforts at cultivating the correct skills mix,” said Koolen. “Partnering with educational institutions and other industry skills development initiatives can accelerate the rate at which skills become available to companies.”
She added that technology vendors can also play a valuable role. “Large technology companies often have large global workforces and strong employer brands, allowing them to attract top talent. Partnering with tech venters can augment organisations’ skills base and provide valuable support to AI-led initiatives.”
E-Business
Google Announces $37m Funding in Africa

Google has outlined a wave of AI support across Africa, representing $37 million in cumulative funding — including previously committed but unannounced funding — to research, talent development, and infrastructure.
The funding package includes funding and partnerships that aim to strengthen AI research, support African languages, improve food systems, expand digital skills, and build research capacity.
The AI Collaborative for Food Security, a multi-partner initiative launched with $25 million in funding from Google.org will bring together researchers, and nonprofit organizations to co-develop AI tools for early hunger forecasting, crop resilience, and tailored guidance for smallholder farmers.
The goal is to help make food systems across Africa more adaptive, equitable, and resilient in the face of increasing climate and economic shocks.
Google also announced $3 million in funding to the Masakhane Research Foundation, the open research collective advancing AI tools in over 40 African languages.
The funding will support the development of high-quality datasets, machine translation models, and speech tools that make digital content more accessible to millions of Africans in their native languages.
To further empower innovation, Google is launching a catalytic funding initiative to support AI-driven startups tackling real-world challenges.
This platform will combine philanthropic capital, venture investment, and Google’s technical expertise to help more than 100 early-stage ventures scale AI-based solutions in agriculture, healthcare, education, and other vital sectors.
Startups will also receive mentorship, access to tools, and technical guidance to support responsible development.
Africa’s AI talent is growing rapidly, but the infrastructure to support it must grow in tandem.
That’s why a cornerstone of this announcement is the launch of the AI Community Center in Accra — a first-of-its-kind space for AI learning, experimentation, and collaboration in Africa.
The Center will host training sessions, community events, and workshops focused on responsible AI development. Its programming will span four pillars: AI literacy, community technology, social impact, and arts and culture — providing a platform for a diverse ecosystem of developers, students, and creators to engage with AI in ways that are grounded in African priorities.
To help meet the rising demand for AI and digital skills, Google is rolling out 100,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships for students in higher learning institutions across Ghana.
These fully funded, self-paced programs will focus on AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, and other high-growth fields like IT Support, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity — enabling more learners to access job-ready training and build careers in AI and the digital economy.
Beyond Ghana, Google.org is committing an additional $7 million to support AI education across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.
The funding will support academic institutions and nonprofits building localized AI curricula, online safety training, and cybersecurity programs.
Additionally, two new $1 million grants from Google.org aim to bolster AI research capacity across the continent.
One grant goes to the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria to support applied AI research and training.
The other supports the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute in South Africa, which will fund MSc and PhD students to conduct foundational AI research and help shape Africa’s role in the global AI landscape.
Speaking about the announcements, James Manyika, senior vice president for Research, Labs, and Technology & Society at Google, said: “Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today. We are committed to supporting the next wave of innovation through long-term investment, local partnerships, and platforms that help researchers and entrepreneurs build solutions that matter.”
Yossi Matias, vice president of Engineering and Research at Google, added: “This new wave of support reflects our belief in the talent, creativity, and ingenuity across the continent. By building with local communities and institutions, we’re supporting solutions that are rooted in Africa’s realities and built for global impact.”
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