E-Business
Opinion: It’s Time to Get Serious About User Data

By Andrew Bourne, Regional Manager, Africa, Zoho Corporation
Over the past few years, tech-savvy customers and younger, more dynamic, employees have forced businesses in all sectors to completely change their way of operating. But with that transformation has come an unprecedented threat in the shape of the harvesting and misuse of personal data by technology vendors.
For their part, customers expect every company they interact with to use technology in a way that makes their lives simpler and more efficient. After all, if they can change insurers or buy groceries with a few taps of their smartphone, why shouldn’t they be able to do the same when it comes to investing or getting property-buying advice?
Employees, meanwhile, expect to be able to interact with their companies in the same way they do with the products and services they themselves use as consumers.
But if organisations aren’t careful with the technology vendors they use, they may not only be putting their customers at risk, but also their own reputation and ultimately, their bottom line. As organisations evaluate their path forward, it is therefore critically important to step back and determine what they are giving up to rapidly stay ahead.
From a personal perspective, it is generally understood that using Google, Facebook, and Twitter comes with a compromise – people pay for these free services by allowing them to track their online behaviour constantly, giving up control of their data. They are, essentially, “surveillance companies”.
The majority of websites monitor customers, users, and prospective customers through cookies; small lines of code designed to track a visitor. Companies pay significant amounts to access the information these cookies collect, so they can target them with advertising. This happens secretly, and without an individual being aware their data has been packaged and distributed to other companies with ulterior motives. What we must recognise is that it happens in the business-to-business (B2B) world as well.
B2B companies allow surveillance companies to track their users while on their properties. Surveillance in the form of trackers can be found everywhere on B2B websites. Salesforce, SAP, WorkDay, NetSuite, and Slack, common applications in today’s professional environments, all employ surveillance tools that track things such as user browsing habits.
It’s not surprising that most Nigerians feel a massive disconnect between how their personal data should be treated and how it actually is. According to a survey by the Web Foundation, 97% of Nigerians view the treatment of their personal data as a major concern.
B2B companies use products and services from surveillance companies in exchange for their users’ data, but users are not informed about it. This practice happens on websites, and it happens on mobile devices. It is everywhere.
Data is priceless, and safeguarding it should be an organisation’s greatest responsibility. It’s important to challenge any company that collects and sells user data to stop adjunct surveillance to protect – and respect – customer privacy.
All organisations should ask if their technology vendor is running its products on a public cloud, where they can track you or client’s behaviour or data. Most public cloud companies also have ad-based business units, and as we know, ads and privacy don’t mix. In order to remove trackers from all ad-supported companies, have they developed tools internally? Where are the “Trojan horses” within the confines of their products?
It has been said that data has surpassed oil in value. For businesses who grow by exploiting consumer’s personal data, it’s gold dust. Sure, some things can be monetised; personal data should not be one of them.
E-Business
Galaxy Backbone, Rural Electrification Agency Commit to Deepening Digital and Energy Access Across Nigeria

In a major step towards deepening Nigeria’s digital and energy infrastructure, Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a brief but impactful ceremony held in Abuja.
The MoU signals a collaborative effort between both agencies to enhance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda by integrating reliable energy solutions with cutting-edge ICT infrastructure, especially in higher institutions, Government institutions, underserved and rural communities across the country.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director/CEO of Galaxy Backbone, Professor Ibrahim A. Adeyanju, described the partnership as “a landmark moment in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally empowered, sustainably powered, and inclusively connected nation.”
“This partnership exemplifies what is possible when two visionary government institutions come together, united by shared goals and driven by the desire to improve the lives of Nigerians everywhere,” he said.
Professor Adeyanju emphasized that while Galaxy Backbone’s core mandate is to provide secure digital infrastructure that powers government operations, reliable and sustainable energy particularly in rural areas is essential to fully actualize digital transformation.
Major highlights of the MoU include:
- Solar electrification of some of GBB’s Metro Fibre sites in Abuja by the REA.
- Powering Hostels of Higher Institutions across the country through the Fibre to Hostel Project being driven by the Federal Ministry of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy (FMCIDE).
- Support for the rollout of the 774 Local Government Digitization Initiative, beginning with six pilot Local Government Areas.
- Provision of LANs, access points, cloud services, colocation infrastructure, and temporary connectivity to enhance REA’s operational facilities nationwide.
The Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency Mr Abba Aliyu, in his remarks, expressed optimism that this collaboration will further bridge the digital and energy divide across Nigeria. He noted that by combining REA’s achievements in expanding energy access with GBB’s robust ICT backbone, both agencies are poised to create lasting impact across governance, education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship.
This partnership is also in direct alignment with the Renewed Hope Digital Transformation Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, which envisions an inclusive digital economy powered by innovation and sustainable energy.
The ceremony was attended by top management from both organizations as well as members of the media.
With today’s signing, Galaxy Backbone and the Rural Electrification Agency have set the tone for stronger, smarter, and more inclusive public service delivery powered by strategic inter-agency collaboration.
E-Business
NIMC Says NIN Services Back Online

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has announced the restoration of its National Identification Number (NIN) verification services nationwide.
This, according to the commission, follows the completion of a system maintenance exercise.
In a statement issued on Friday, the NIMC confirmed that all previously disrupted services have resumed.
“NIMC wishes to inform the general public that the recent technical maintenance has been completed and all services have been restored,” the statement read.
The NIMC urged Nigerians seeking to enroll for NIN to visit the its official website to locate the nearest enrollment centers.
The agency also encouraged individuals to make use of its self-service portal for tasks such as data modification, including name changes.
To further ease the verification process, the Commission recommended downloading the NIMC NameAuth app (oath.app) from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store for quick and secure NIN authentication.
NIMC expressed appreciation for the public’s patience during the service disruption, which had impacted banks, telecom providers, and government agencies that rely on NIN verification for their operations.
E-Business
Report Reveals African Organizations Dangerously Overestimating Cyber defences

Many businesses are overestimating their defence against cyber attacks, which creates a significant human risk blind spot. A new KnowBe4 report exposes a worrying disconnect between what leaders think about their cyber security readiness and what employees experience.
According to the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025, based on insights from cyber security decision-makers across 30 African countries, despite high awareness, a critical gap exists in turning that awareness into actual readiness and resilient behaviour.
Key findings from the KnowBe4 Africa Human Risk Management Report 2025:
Confidence vs awareness: While cyber security awareness is high, leaders express uncertainty about their workforce’s ability to act on that awareness. Many feel employees may overestimate their capabilities in recognising, reporting and mitigating threats.
The need for adaptive and personalised security awareness training: Many companies fail to personalise security awareness training to specific roles or risk exposures.
Widespread BYOD usage: A large percentage of employees (between 41% and 80%) use their personal devices for work.
AI policy development is lagging: Many companies (46%) are still in the process of developing policies for using AI tools in the workplace.
Regional variation: Southern Africa trains more, East Africa governs AI better and West/Central Africa sees the most human-related security incidents.
This gap is significant because Africa has become an attractive target to cyber criminals, especially those that launch AI-powered attacks. A LexisNexis Risk Solutions study found 60% of South African organisations have seen an increase in AI-facilitated financial crime – above the 56% global average.
Kehinde Popoola, regional manager and key representative for West and East Africa at Rubrik, said digital transformation is gaining momentum in Africa and companies are more exposed to cyber risk. The Rubrik executive adds that amid an increase in threats, it is crucial that organisations adopt an assumed breach mindset.
The KnowBe4 research shows that cyber security preparedness and the actual structures required to support secure behaviour seem misaligned.
The report highlights that just 10% of cyber security leaders are fully confident that staff would report a phishing attack or other cyber threat, despite rating employee security awareness of cyber threats at four out of five or higher.
There is also a significant perception gap between decision-makers and general employees in Africa regarding security awareness training, with 68% of leaders believing that training is tailored to roles, compared to only a third of employees feeling adequately trained.
KnowBe4 asserts that many organisations only conduct annual or biannual training that is too generic to effectively change behaviour, contributing to uncertainty about its effectiveness.
According to another report, the KnowBe4 African Cybersecurity and Awareness Report 2025, which focuses on end-user based responses, only 43% of African respondents felt confident in their ability to recognise a cyber threat, and just one in three believed their security awareness training was adequately tailored to their role. This comparison suggests the development of a dangerous perception gap in many organisations.
“There’s a disconnect here – between what leaders think is happening and what employees are actually experiencing,” says Anna Collard, SVP content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa. “The data shows that without procedural and cultural follow-through, awareness simply doesn’t translate into readiness.”
“The continent’s cyber security posture may be more confident than it is truly resilient,” Collard adds.
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