E-Business
NOTAP Launches Software for EO5 Implementation
The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has launched locally developed software that would establish a database of Nigerian professionals for the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order 5 (EO5).
Speaking at the event which was held in Lagos recently, NOTAP Southwest Zonal Director General, Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim, said the Order is aimed at engaging indigenous professionals in execution of government jobs for improvement of indigenous skills and also to protect and encourage the development of local capacities.
He noted that the EO5 was intended to give preference to Nigerian professionals in the execution of government contracts and projects in science, engineering and technology, to gradually develop their technical skills well enough to compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.
Dr. Ibrahim said the Order was a government’s initiative to set the nation on the path of viable and sustainable economic growth, using the instruments and platforms of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI)
Decrying the enormous amount of foreign currency spent to procure foreign technologies, especially in the area of software by Nigerians entrepreneurs, the DG said it became necessary to encourage the development and utilization of indigenous skills.
“NOTAP, therefore, engaged an indigenous Information Technology (IT) company, Cogewox Dot Net limited for development and deployment of a robust database that captures, stores, analyses and reports profiles of Nigerian professionals,” he noted.
He noted that where expertise was lacking, procuring entities would give preference to foreign companies and firms that have demonstrated clear and verifiable plans for indigenous skills development prior to the award of such contracts.
“With the signing of Executive Order, companies with the intention of employing foreign nationals on long term work authorisation and requires the grant of expatriate quota will undergo additional extensive scrutiny.
“The Order, companies would be required to employ Nigerians to understudy their foreign experts to enable them acquire the requisite skills for the eventual takeover of the expatriate positions by a Nigerian counterpart.
“Although this has always been the case, it is our opinion that there would be stiffer scrutiny and monitoring of this requirement for proper implementation,” he said.
In his presentation titled, ‘Database of Experts for Policy Formulation,’ the former President and Co-founder of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Dr. Chris Uwaje said NOTAP had demonstrated competence and willingness to launch the country into a technology dependent nation through the encouragement of software development in the country.
He expressed confidence that NOTAP would religiously implement the Order and turn Nigerian into a technology hub, even as he urged the Federal Government to give all support and encouragement to the agency to ensure the actualisation of its mandates.
He described the software as a robust and interactive app that provides platform for the Nigerian professionals to easily engage in registration, so long as they have a smart internet enabled devices, stressing that Nigeria is blessed with an array of relentless researchers and software developers that could seamlessly compete with their foreign counterparts if given the opportunity to exhibit their competencies.
He commended NOTAP for trusting in the ability of the Nigerian software developers to develop software that would drive the implementation of EO5, adding that the only way to develop indigenous skills was by believing in the operators of the sector and through patronage.
Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) experts at the 10th annual Cyber Security Weekend – META 2025 held recently, talked about supply chain attacks and reported that by the end of 2024 a total of 14,000 malicious packages were found in open-source projects, a 48% increase compared to the end of 2023. 42 million versions of open-source packages have been examined by Kaspersky throughout 2024 in search for vulnerabilities.
Open-source is software with source code that anyone can inspect, modify, and enhance. Popular open-source packages include GoMod, Maven, NuGet, npm, PyPI, and others.
These are tools that power countless applications and help developers easily find, install, and manage pre-built code libraries, making it simpler to build software by reusing code others have written. Attackers take advantage of the popularity of these and other packages.
In March 2025, the Lazarus Group was reported to have deployed several malicious npm packages, which were downloaded multiple times before removal. These packages contained malware to steal credentials, cryptocurrency wallet data, and deploy backdoors, targeting developers’ systems across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
The attack leveraged GitHub repositories for added legitimacy, highlighting the group’s sophisticated supply chain tactics. Kaspersky’s GReAT also found other npm packages related to this attack. Malicious npm packages could have been integrated into web development, cryptocurrency platforms, and enterprise software, risking widespread data theft and financial losses.
In 2024, a sophisticated backdoor was discovered in XZ Utils versions 5.6.0 and 5.6.1, a widely used compression library in Linux distributions. Inserted by a trusted contributor, the malicious code targeted SSH servers, enabling remote command execution and threatening countless systems globally.
Detected before widespread exploitation due to performance anomalies, the incident highlighted the dangers of supply chain attacks. XZ Utils is integral to operating systems, cloud servers, and IoT devices, making its compromise a threat to critical infrastructure and enterprise networks.
In 2024, Kaspersky’s GReAT discovered that attackers uploaded malicious Python packages like chatgpt-python and chatgpt-wrapper to PyPI, mimicking legitimate tools for interacting with ChatGPT APIs.
These packages, designed to steal credentials and deploy backdoors, capitalised on the popularity of AI development to trick developers into downloading them. These packages could have been used in AI development, chatbot integrations, and data analytics platforms, endangering sensitive AI workflows and user data.
“Open-source software is the backbone of many modern solutions, but its openness is being weaponised. The 50% rise in malicious packages by the end of 2024 shows attackers are actively embedding sophisticated backdoors and data stealers in popular packages, which millions rely on.
“Without rigorous vetting and real-time monitoring, a single compromised package can trigger a global breach. Organisations need to secure the supply chain before the next XZ Utils-level attack succeeds,” comments Dmitry Galov, Head of Research Center for Russia and CIS at Kaspersky’s Global Research and Analysis Team.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
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