E-Business
Okere Urges NiRAN to Target MSME for .NG

Austin Okere, founder and group chief executive officer (CEO) Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) plc, has highlighted the potential of digital explosion in Nigeria, saying that a framework for the Internet governance is urgently needed which must be targeted at Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME).
Okere who chaired 2014 Nigeria Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) held at the Music Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Center, Onikan-Lagos, in his address, said that he was deeply honoured to chair the gathering and believes on the theme: Harnessing Multi-Stakeholders’ Framework for Internet Governance & Economic Growth.
He also reiterated belief in inclusive growth, and canvassed that NIRAN focuses her target on the adoption of .ng by ensuring enrollment of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sub-sector of the economy, which number he put in excess of 17.7m in Nigeria, and who are likely to see more benefit with the adoption.
Okere also noted that the modern wave of Internet has taken Africa by storm and Nigeria is no exception. Hence, he pointed out that recent World Bank study showed that 32.9 per cent of Nigerians depend on technologies of this age such as broadband and Long Term Evolution (LTE).
Nigeria, he said, ranked 8th out of a total of 212 member countries of United Nations in terms of number of Internet users and only occupies 128th spots in terms of Internet penetration.
He quoted the World Economic Forum recently held in Nigeria as indicating that out of every 100 urban Nigerians, 50 accesses the internet monthly, 58 have internet capable mobile phones and 21 have smart phones.
On the other hand, he said, CWG plc leveraged on the abundance of broadband capacity to launch an ambitious programme of empowering MSME’s which she tags CWG 2.0; to work with banks and government agencies such as SMEDAN and the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment to provide affordable technology to help MSME’s to build capacity and attract credit to grow their businesses.
The objective, Okere said, will enable the 17.7 MSME’s build sufficient capacity to employ an additional staff each. This will create an additional 17.7m jobs, fuelling inclusive growth.
He, therefore, urged NIGF led by the Local Multistakeholder Advisory Group (LMAG) and the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), the managers of .NG country code domain name to tap into this MSME in effort to populate .NG brand.
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.
The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.
“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.
The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.
It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.
Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.
Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.
Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.
A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.
“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.
Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.
Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.
It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.
Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.
NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”
The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.
The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.
The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.
In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.
“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.
Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.
“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.
He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework. He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.
According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.
Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.
“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”
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