News
Okere @ WEF, Lists Benefits of NgREN

Austin Okere, founder of CWG Plc and Entrepreneur in Residence at Columbia Business School (CBS), New York, spoke on the Digital Advantage Panel anchored by Nielsen Bronwyn of CNBC Africa at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Tianjin, China in early September.
Speaking alongside Rich Lesser, global CEO & President of the Boston Consulting Group, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, Mitchell Baker, Executive Chairwoman of the Mozilla Foundation, and Maurice Levy, Chairman and CEO of the Publicis Groupe on the role of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and the importance of Computer Science on future employment trends, Mr. Okere threw light on the transformative Nigeria Research and Education Network (NgREN) project which his company, CWG, collaborated with the World Bank and the Education Ministry in Nigeria to deliver earlier in the year.
The project, the first of its kind in West and Central Africa, covers the 27 Premier Federal Universities in Nigeria and their over one million students and staff, providing high definition telepresence capabilities for real-time collaboration, voice over internet protocol (VOIP), and shared access to research content and joint experimentation projects. Subsequent phases will extend to over 500 other Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education, and cover over 20 million people.
On the question of technology and needed regulation, Austin’s view is that legislation will always lag technology because of its innate manual and iterative nature and having to chase rapid innovation in technology.
He believes that in the future, physical stores shall only be for brand enticement and ‘look & feel’, while most purchases shall be made online.
Mr. Okere averred that business models based on the arbitrage of information such as travel agencies shall be disrupted and disinter mediated in favour of business models based on creativity and knowledge value add to information, such as software design, big data analytics and Ecommerce enablers such as Google and Alibaba.
He added that in today’s world, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can have access to the hitherto technology advantage enjoyed by larger companies, by leveraging technology solutions available through cloud computing, and spreading capital costs through subscription payments.
He counseled governments to invest in the critical ‘last mile’ infrastructure that enables Broadband access to homes and offices to further boost inclusive growth, noting that there is a correlation between pervasive Broadband Access and the GDP growth of a country.
When asked about financial inclusion and business expansion into emerging markets, Austin’s views were that the new frontiers for business expansion following saturation in the developed markets were Africa and Latin America. He however cautioned against wholesale importation of western business model templates into these emerging markets given the different geographies, peoples and cultures. He counsels local partnerships to explore the immense opportunities in a mutually beneficial manner.
On financial inclusion and the widely popular M-PESA mobile banking system in Kenya, Mr. Okere explained that the model has not quite taken off in promising markets such as Nigeria because of the model adopted in Kenya where the initiative is telecom operator led. He expressed deep scepticism about the ‘largest bank’ in the country being outside of the supervisory purview of the Central Bank, since telecom operators are rather regulated by the Communication Commission.
He favours a bank led model, which is slow in taking off because the banks are just learning the ropes in agent recruitment, a critical pillar in the value chain and the forte of telecom operators.
He however, believed that the recent launch of the national identity card project in Nigeria will significantly boost financial inclusion in the country, since the cards, with biometrics and financial transaction capability (in conjunction with MasterCard), shall be carried by over 130 million Nigerians; far more than the subscribers on M-PESA, which stands at about 15 million as at June 2014.
The WEF Champions meeting which holds annually in China and also known as the ‘Summer Davos’, attracted over 2,000 delegates comprising global industry captains, top academia, heads of states and top government functionaries to the city of Tianjin for two days from September 10.
It will be recalled that CWG was named a WEF Global growth Company in May 2014 at the WEF Forum at Abuja in recognition of her phenomenal growth, global corporate citizenship, executive leadership and impact on the competitive landscape of the ICT industry in Africa.
Acknowledging the company, David Aikman, Managing Director and Head of the New Champions at the World Economic Forum, remarked that “CWG Plc is a dynamic group with clear potential to shape the future in its relevant business sector and so is a perfect fit to our GGC community”.
The Forum was opened at a colourful event by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Professor Schwab Klaus, Founder and Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
The premier assured the international business community in China that they would not be selectively targeted in the ongoing industrial reforms in China, while announcing a healthy GDP growth of 7.6% and the creation of an additional 10.4 million jobs in the eight months to September.
Professor Schwab thanked the Government of China for their continued hospitality to the WEF community and assured of the reciprocity of the global business community through increased investment in the Country.
News
Toll Collection on Lagos-Calabar Highway Begins December

Senator David Umahi, the Minister of Works, has announced that a section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will be tolled starting in December.
Umahi disclosed this during an interview for a forthcoming State House documentary marking the second anniversary of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
He said: “By December, we will toll Section 1 of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway. We project a 10-year return on investment.
“The road has solar-powered lighting and CCTV infrastructure, and offers carbon credit advantages.
“It is more than a road; it is an economic corridor and a catalyst for regional growth.”
According to the minister, 30 kilometres of Section 1 have already been completed, with an additional 10 kilometres in Section 2 nearing delivery. Both segments feature six-lane concrete-paved carriageways, designed to meet modern standards for safety and durability.
Umahi further revealed that construction had commenced on Sections 3 and 3B of the highway, spanning a total of 65 kilometres, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom.
He described the positive response from local communities as a clear indication of the project’s wide-reaching socioeconomic benefits.
“Just days ago, we flagged off Sections 3 and 3B—65 kilometres in total, covering 38 kilometres in Cross River State and 27 kilometres in Akwa Ibom. The host communities’ excitement speaks to these projects’ transformative impact,” he said.
Umahi also highlighted the administration’s renewed focus on the Sokoto-Badagry superhighway, which he noted was part of a broader vision dating back to colonial-era trade plans.
“The Trans-Saharan trade route dates back to colonial-era planning. President Tinubu is now bringing these long-abandoned visions to life,” the minister explained.
News
Kaspersky Uncovers Dero Crypto Miner Spreading via Exposed Container Environments

Kaspersky Security Services experts have identified a sophisticated cyberattack campaign targeting containerized environments to deploy a miner for the Dero cryptocurrency.
The attackers abuse exposed Docker APIs — parts of Docker, an open-source container development platform. In 2025, there are a significant number of Docker API default ports that are insecurely published, accounting for almost 500 occurrences worldwide on average each month.
In the discovered campaign, cybercriminals inject two types of malwares into the compromised systems: one is the miner itself and the other is a propagation malware that can spread the campaign to other insecure container networks.
Kaspersky experts discovered this malicious campaign as part of a compromise assessment project. According to expert estimates, any organisation that operates containerized infrastructure — while exposing Docker APIs without robust security controls — can be a potential target. These may include technology companies, software development firms, hosting providers, cloud service providers and more enterprises.
According to Shodan, in 2025, there are 485 published Docker API default ports¹ worldwide each month on average. This figure illustrates the campaign’s potential attack surface by tallying the “entry points” — or insecurely exposed ports that attackers might target.
Once attackers identify an insecurely published Docker API, they either compromise existing containers or create new malicious ones based on a legitimate standard Ubuntu image. They then inject two malware types into the compromised containers: “nginx” and “cloud”.
The latter is a Dero cryptocurrency miner, while “nginx” is a malicious software that maintains persistence, ensures execution of the miner and scans for other exposed environments. This malware allows attackers to operate without traditional Command-and-Control (C2) servers; instead, each infected container independently scans the Internet and can spread the miner to new targets.
“The campaign has the potential for exponential growth of infections, with each compromised container acting as a new source of attack, if security measures are not immediately put in place in the potentially targeted networks,” explains Amged Wageh, an incident response and a compromise assessment expert at Kaspersky Security Services.
“Сontainers are foundational to software development, deployment, and scalability. Their widespread use across cloud-native environments, DevOps, and microservices architectures makes them an attractive target for cyber attackers. This growing reliance demands organisations adopt a 360-degree approach to security — combining robust security solutions with proactive threat hunting and regular compromise assessments”.
The attackers embedded the names “nginx” and “cloud” directly in the binary — an inflexible executable file composed of instructions and data for the processor, not for humans. This is a classic masquerading tactic that lets the payload pose as a legitimate tool, trying to deceive both analysts and automated defenses.
News
Manager, Others Arraigned for Allegedly Hacking into Premium Trust Bank’s Server

Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Tuesday, charged five defendants before a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly hacking into the server of Premium Trust Bank.
The defendants are listed as the bank’s e-payment service manager, Matthew Adeniyi; Kehinde Odeyemi, a nursing mother; Samson Latshin, Bolaji Omotosho and Sunday Okunnola.
They were charged before Justice Alexander Owoeye, on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, cybercrime and unlawful access to the bank’s database.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Mrs. Zeenat Atiku, prosecutor, alleged that they committed the offence between April and May this year, in collaboration with three others, now at large.
Those still at large are Isa Ismaila, Victor Joshua, also known as ‘Oracle’ as well as one other, simply identified as Humble.
According to the charge, the first defendant unlawfully disclosed sensitive credentials, including the bank’s server IP and domain details, to these parties.
She said this enabled an unauthorised access to the bank’s database and the consequent data breach allegedly resulted in financial gains of $10,000.
The prosecutor also alleged that the defendants attempted to intercept the bank’s network and procured a Hewlett-Packard ProBook 440 G9 laptop (serial No. SN#5CD2473N6G) configured to bypass the bank’s security systems.
The anti-graft agency said the alleged offences contravened the provisions of sections 12(1)(b), 27, 28(1)(b)(c) and 28(3) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition Act, 2015 (as amended in 2024).
Following their pleas, the prosecutor, requested for a trial date and sought an order to remand the defendants in custody.
Meanwhile, the court declined an oral bail by the defence counsel and directed that a formal bail application be filed.
He adjourned the case until June 30, for trial and ordered that the defendants be remanded at the Nigerian correctional centre, pending bail.
The court, however, added that the defence may apply for an earlier trial date, upon filing their bail applications.
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