E-Business
NITDA DG Says FG On Course to Secure Digital Economy in the Age of AI
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has said that Nigeria is taking decisive steps to safeguard its digital future by strengthening cybersecurity, enhancing infrastructure, and building human capacity to harness the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He stated this while delivering a keynote address titled ‘Securing Digital Economy: Strengthening Infrastructure and Harnessing the Power of Artificial Intelligence’ at the Cyber Nigeria Summit, organised by the Cybersecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN).
Inuwa described the digital economy as the heartbeat of Nigeria’s development agenda, noting that while ICT contributes about 17 percent to the country’s GDP, digital technologies influence nearly every sector of the economy. The service sector alone, he said, accounts for about 58 percent of national output, demonstrating the deep integration of digital tools into everyday life.
He cautioned that the rise of AI has further transformed cybersecurity dynamics. While AI enhances productivity and innovation, it also equips cybercriminals with advanced tools to execute attacks with greater precision and scale. “
Cybercrime now costs the world over 10 trillion dollars annually, making it the most lucrative form of crime globally. The World Economic Forum ranks cybersecurity among the top five global threats, showing that our strategies must evolve beyond physical protection,” he said.
Inuwa noted that securing Nigeria’s digital economy begins with designing infrastructure that prioritises security from the foundation. Digital infrastructure, he said, now extends beyond servers and networks to include utilities, telecommunications, and even autonomous vehicles.
“If a hacker gains access to an autonomous car, the consequences could be disastrous,” he warned. He emphasised that AI systems depend on three critical elements: data, compute power, and algorithms, which must all be protected. “If any of these are compromised, the entire system becomes vulnerable.”
He also pointed out that human error remains the leading cause of cyber incidents worldwide, accounting for 90 to 95 percent of breaches. Despite two decades of global awareness efforts since Cybersecurity Awareness Month began in 2004, this figure has remained constant. “Cybercriminals exploit human weakness because it’s easier to manipulate behavior than to break through advanced systems,” he explained.
According to him, cybersecurity in Nigeria is built on four strategic pillars: governance, capacity building, incident management, and collaboration. Under the governance framework, the Nigerian Cybercrime Act provides the foundation for coordination and accountability. Recently amended to reflect emerging digital realities, the Act is complemented by a Presidential Executive Order designating critical digital information infrastructure as part of Nigeria’s national assets. “This milestone allows our cyberspace to be recognised and protected as a national highway,” he said.
On capacity building, Inuwa highlighted the growing global demand for cybersecurity professionals, with an estimated gap of 4.4 million workers worldwide and over 140,000 in Nigeria alone. He described this gap as an opportunity for national empowerment, given Nigeria’s youthful population. Through initiatives such as the 3 Million Tech Talent (3MTT) programme, the government aims to train Nigerians in 12 high-demand digital skills, including cybersecurity.
He further cited the Digital Literacy for All initiative and the National Digital Literacy Framework (NDLF), which target 95 percent digital literacy by 2030 and 70 percent by 2027. Starting next year, digital literacy, including cybersecurity, will be taught from kindergarten through tertiary institutions. This policy, he said, will nurture a digitally conscious and responsible generation.
The third pillar, incident management, focuses on rapid response and coordination. Inuwa revealed that the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC), established under the Office of the National Security Adviser, is now fully operational and coordinates responses to cyber incidents nationwide. Sectoral CERTs have also been established in key areas such as finance, communication, and law enforcement, ensuring a more unified national response.
He stressed that collaboration remains essential for success, as cybersecurity cannot be managed in isolation. Nigeria, he said, works closely with the African Union, Smart Africa, international CERTs, and major global technology companies to strengthen collective defense mechanisms.
The DG urged Nigerians to adopt good cyber hygiene, using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, and avoiding phishing scams. He also encouraged prompt reporting of cyberattacks, emphasising that transparency is vital for collective resilience.
In partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser, NITDA is working to establish a National Cybersecurity Architecture that promotes accountability, information sharing, and unified national defense.
Over the past four years, gold has risen by more than 400%. The precious metal has long been one of the most traded assets in global financial markets. From its role as a traditional store of value to its sensitivity to inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical uncertainty, gold continues to attract traders seeking efficient and predictable trading opportunities during a period of global uncertainty and high volatility.
JustMarkets
For traders looking to effectively access gold markets, choosing the right trading environment is as important as timing their entry. One of the most popular and effective gold trading platforms is JustMarkets, offering the tools, conditions, and infrastructure to enable traders to achieve their most ambitious gold trading goals.
Tight Spreads on XAU/USD
Cost efficiency is a critical factor in gold trading, especially for active day traders. JustMarkets offers extremely competitive XAU/USD spreads, allowing traders to open and close positions with reduced transaction costs. Lower spreads can significantly impact short-term strategies, where precision and timing are key to effectively entering a trade. By minimizing trading costs, JustMarkets helps traders focus more on market analysis and finding the ideal entry point, and less on overhead.
Fast and Reliable Execution
Gold is recognized for its volatility, especially during the day, especially with economic announcements or geopolitical events. Speed is of the essence in volatile markets. JustMarkets provides high-speed execution of orders, which helps minimize the risks of delays, especially during periods of high volatility. This ensures that traders are able to respond better to market conditions, thereby having better control over trade management.
Flexible Trading Conditions
Each trader has their own approach to gold, ranging from intraday trading to position trading. JustMarkets offers flexible leverage and account types, enabling traders to adjust their exposure based on their risk tolerance and trading style. This flexibility is suitable for both conservative and aggressive traders while still allowing them to access the same global gold market.
Advanced Platforms and Tools
Successful gold trading is based on thorough technical and fundamental analysis. JustMarkets provides access to industry-standard trading platforms equipped with advanced charting tools, multiple timeframes, and a wide range of indicators for recognizing divergences and clear entry points. These features help traders analyze price trends, identify key levels, and plan their trades with greater confidence.
Accessibility via mobile devices and computers via the JustMarkets Mobile Trading app also ensures traders can monitor positions and market movements from anywhere and at any time.
Education and Market Support
Gold is also affected by factors such as inflation rates, central bank policies, and currency fluctuations. Understanding these factors is important for developing a structured trading strategy.
JustMarkets offers resources for traders, which provide information on how global events can impact the price of gold like case studies, daily, bank and weekly analysis. This is a knowledge-based system, which enables the trader to make more informed decisions rather than relying on the price movements of gold.
Trading Activities That Keep Gold Traders Engaged
In addition to the competitive trading environment, JustMarkets also runs various special activities and campaigns that aim to make the trading experience more interesting. At certain intervals, the special activities may include trading contests on specific trading instruments, such as gold, which are highly sought after by traders. This will give the traders an added impetus to keep trading.
The special activities are designed to encourage trading, consistency, and skill-building among the traders, along with the additional motivation for the trading strategies. This is also in line with the overall philosophy of JustMarkets to create a dynamic trading environment where trading, learning, and motivation are linked together.
A Trading Environment Built for Gold Traders
Gold is still one of the most dynamic markets with the greatest number of opportunities in the world. With tight spreads on XAU/USD, fast execution, flexible trading terms, and access to advanced analytical tools, JustMarkets creates an optimal trading environment for those who want to trade gold efficiently.
In addition to the comprehensive educational assistance, JustMarkets continues to position itself as a strong competitor for traders who are looking for professional trading conditions combined with growth opportunities.
Microsoft is stepping up its push to expand artificial-intelligence adoption across Africa as competition intensifies with Chinas DeepSeek for influence in one of the worlds youngest and fastest-growing digital markets.
The company plans to train 3 million Africans on its AI technologies this year through partnerships with schools, universities and other institutions, with a focus on South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco.
The effort reflects Microsofts broader attempt to accelerate adoption of its AI ecosystem across emerging markets where developers and enterprises are increasingly experimenting with generative AI tools.
Alongside the training initiative, Microsoft is working with MTN Group (MTNOY), Africas largest telecommunications company, to distribute Microsoft 365 and its Copilot digital assistant to about 300 million subscribers.
The Elevate program is designed to expand AI literacy and reduce cost barriers that might otherwise limit adoption, according to regional leadership.
The push comes as Chinese technology firms expand their footprint across the continent, with DeepSeeks open-source models accounting for roughly 11% to 14% of chatbot use in several African markets and reaching about 20% in countries such as Ethiopia and Zimbabwe following investments tied to digital infrastructure and telecom networks.
Microsoft is also increasing its infrastructure investment in the region.
In South Africa, the company plans to invest 5.4 billion rand, or about $330 million, to expand its cloud and AI capacity by the end of next year, while it is also exploring plans for a geothermal-powered data center in Kenya.
Early corporate adoption is emerging across the continent, with South African grocer Spar Group using Copilot in ways that save more than 700 employee hours annually and Nigerias Access Holdings integrating AI into daily workflows.
Regional leadership has suggested broader AI adoption could potentially contribute up to $1.5 trillion to Africas gross domestic product by 2030 if governments and businesses continue investing in digital infrastructure and AI skills.
Kaspersky Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has uncovered a new Android malware campaign in which cybercriminals distributed the BeatBanker Trojan under the guise of the Starlink application for Android.
Threat actors primarily target users from Brazil; nevertheless, Kaspersky experts don’t rule out that users from other countries may also face this threat.
The Trojan employs a Monero cryptocurrency miner and additionally installs a BTMOB remote administration tool (RAT) on the infected devices. To maintain its persistence, BeatBanker uses an uncommon mechanism involving a nearly inaudible looped audio file.
“At first we saw BeatBanker being distributed under the guise of a public services app; it installed a banking Trojan in addition to a cryptocurrency miner. However, our recent detection efforts uncovered a new campaign with another BeatBanker variant that deploys the BTMOB RAT instead of the banker module.
The attackers appear to be using a fresh lure with the Starlink app to reach more victims from different countries. Therefore, it is important for users to stay vigilant and use advanced solutions to protect their smartphones,” comments Fabio Assolini, Head of the Americas & Europe units at Kaspersky GReAT.
Initial vector of infection
Kaspersky experts believe that cybercriminals distribute a fake Starlink application containing the BeatBanker Trojan through phishing pages that mimic the Google Play Store. After execution on a compromised device, the Trojan displays a user interface that also mimics Google Play. Cybercriminals trick victims into granting installation permissions, thus allowing the download of additional hidden malicious payloads.
Crypto mining and BTMOB RAT module
When a user clicks UPDATE on the fake Google Play page, a Monero cryptocurrency miner deploys. BeatBanker monitors battery percentage and the temperature of an infected smartphone, as well as user activity after which a hidden cryptocurrency miner is started or stopped.
The Android Trojan also installs a BTMOB RAT on the compromised device. BTMOB enables full remote control and is sold as Malware-as-a-Service.
It is capable of automatic granting of permissions, hide system notifications and has mechanisms designed to capture screen lock credentials, including PINs, patterns and passwords on compromised devices. The malware also gives cybercriminals access to the front and rear cameras, GPS location monitoring and constant collection of sensitive data.
To ensure persistence and hinder uninstallation, BeatBanker maintains a fixed notification in the foreground and activates a foreground service with silent media playback. This tactic is designed to prevent the operating system from removing the malicious process.
Kaspersky’s products detect this threat as HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.BeatBanker and HEUR:Trojan-Dropper.AndroidOS.Banker.*.
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