E-Business
Rack Centre Now Positioned to Offer Cloud Computing Services – Coker

Ayotunde Coker is the managing director of Rack Centre a data centre operator; he spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek on the recent expansion of Rack Centre facility which enables it to offer commercial cloud computing services in Africa.
Cloud Computing and security. Do you think Nigeria, or Africa has the capacity to secure the data centres to guarantee local hosting of data?
Africa is ready for cloud. First, Data Centre business has been developing in Africa for few years now. I am delighted that Rack Centre is here in Nigeria; well-respected African brand. That is a good way to start. We are certified to the highest tier level- the Uptime Institute. We are the first and only Carrier Neutral to be Tier III Constructed in Africa.
In Nigeria, there are two Data Centres companies that are certified constructed commercial facilities, the only country in Africa with such infrastructure. That is not a bad start. If you look at statistics South Africa has made an incredible start with Data Centres. The amount of capacity (that is ‘built’) available in South Africa is 50% of what is available in the rest of African countries. This is based on analysis by XALAM. It shows that there is a significant of untapped opportunity in the rest of Africa.
So, as a brand, we are prepared: we are scaling, doubling our capacity; certified to ISO 27:2001 and other certifications that give global bodies the confidence to do business with us.
Coming back to Africa; is the Continent ready for Cloud? Africa is ready for co-location and ready for cloud computing. We have seen the wave of what is happening in the use of technology- agriculture, for instance, start-ups and other big businesses are been created in this sector. I intentionally did not use FinTech’s, because it is not just about fintech (though they are very important). Technology is transforming banks, agriculture, oil and gas in Africa. Technology will be key in transforming government (e-government). States like Lagos are embarking on very crucial e-government initiatives.
So, there is a big room for co-location. Now, cloud needs data centres; if it is not in Nigeria it is elsewhere. A lot of African companies have been consuming cloud technology. But they have been consuming it abroad. Even a lot of them host their websites abroad. We have been hosting our website here in Rack Centre for about two years now and no downtime. So, we have started to see the shift
In Africa there is what I call the “Sachet Economy.” You know, people often won’t buy a packet of cigarettes; they will buy two sticks. They won’t buy a litre of milk but rather a small packet. Even water; they prefer to buy the sachets. And it has been very successful. But if you add the quantity of the sachet inside an empty bottle, the cost is about 50% higher; but that is what they can buy.
The only way you can turn IT to meet needs of the sachet economy is, first, to co-locate. Secondly, adopt cloud computing. Cloud enables you to buy what you need and consume and buy more as you grow or scale up. You don’t need to acquire big server when you only need 10% of it. There are a quite number of applications people want to use that require cloud, so cloud is what you can use to deliver services to the sachet economy.
An interesting part to it: if you look at Nigeria, one of the problems of consuming technology from abroad is due to latency. That ‘delay’ is annoying and it affects customer experience. Critical facilities hosted here take away that latency. And now you have Internet of Things (IoT) which requires quick ‘interactions. So, you host it closer to the point of consumption.
For instance, Nigeria’s population is near 200 million with a blessing of young middle-age (18-25 years); the age of consuming data. We also have a significant number of SMEs. If you add Micros businesses, they are about 35 million. So, 20 million SMEs (based on estimates that have been given over the last two years, the figure is more than the population of Belgium, Netherlands and Norway combined.
There will consume data if the services are available. Therefore, all we have to do is deliver cloud services. We have started doing that in Rack Centre. We bring down the threshold of the cost of access to technology through cloud services.
There is another angle to the SMEs. I call them the SMEs of the Professions- (every SME should be professional anyway). By SMEs of the Professions, I mean the accountants, doctors, engineering companies, law firms, etc. They are significant and need access to the right technologies at the right price. That is what cloud can provide.
Then, Nigerian broadband penetration is around 24% out of the target of 30% for this year. And there is still promise that we should hit the target before the end of this year. Now, as that continues grow alongside 4G LTE availability, it is really going to become an enabler to businesses.
So, from our point of view, our business is to going to transform the efficiency of the SMEs and it will impact the economy positively.
Cloud technology and data centre inter-relate and have the potential to transform our economy. It makes the SMEs, for instance, more efficient and productive and directly impacts the country’s GDP.
Your recent election as the Secretary General of African Datacentre Association (ADCA).
Actually, the Association was inaugurated early this year and there is a history to it. Last year, I was speaking at the Datacentre Conference in Morocco. We made a comment that Africa needs a Datacentre Association just like they have in Europe, because this is key infrastructure for Africa. The continent has chosen to leapfrog development using technology. So, we need to get the holistic view to build the industry and a voice for the industry in Africa.
So, one of the gentlemen there, Paul-Francois Cattier, MD (West Africa for Schneider Electric, Ivory Coast took on the task; to drive it. I met him at the Africa CEO Conference and he laid down some progressive reports and it took me just five minutes to say yes; we really have to make this happen.
We got calls from top leaders around Africa who aligned with the vision. Therefore, the Association was incorporated in West Africa (Ivory Coast). We then went on and launched it as African Datacentre Association at the Data Centre Conference in Morocco. which is a good indication of the importance of Africa in the global space in terms of cloud technology. It was a successful event.
We will be hiring an MD to operate the ADCA Secretariat. Also, the representation cuts across the entire continent. The Board has Fatoumata Sarr Dieng of Sonatel Orange (Senegal) as the President. It is mixture of Francophone and Anglophone speaking countries; a good balance and pan-African representation.
I am delighted that we got it going and to have taken a role as the Secretary General. It is an honour.
E-Business
Half of Cybercrime Victims Paid Ransom in 2025- Sophos

Cybercriminals continue to profit handsomely, with nearly half of all victimised organisations paying ransom demands in 2025.
This is despite global efforts to curb the spread of ransomware, according to the State of Ransomware 2025 report released by Sophos, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions.
The sixth annual edition of the report, which surveyed 3,400 IT and cybersecurity leaders across 17 countries, revealed that 49 per cent of organisations hit by ransomware attacks opted to pay the ransom to regain access to their encrypted data, the second-highest payment rate recorded by Sophos in the last six years.
While the median ransom demand decreased by a third compared to 2024, the median payment still stood at $1 million, underscoring the continued profitability of ransomware for cybercriminals. Notably, 53 per cent of organisations that paid a ransom were able to negotiate a lower settlement than initially demanded, often through third-party negotiators or internal efforts.
In his reaction, Chester Wisniewski, director and field CISO at Sophos, averred that for many organisations, the chance of being compromised by ransomware actors is just a part of doing business in 2025, adding that the good news is that, thanks to this increased awareness, many companies are arming themselves with resources to limit damage.
Among those who paid less than the initial demand, 71 per cent successfully negotiated a lower figure. While this signals an increasing awareness and tactical response among victim organisations, the report also noted persistent challenges.
For the third consecutive year, exploited vulnerabilities were identified as the leading technical root cause of ransomware attacks.
Alarmingly, 40 percent of victims said attackers exploited a security gap they were unaware of, underscoring a widespread lack of visibility into organizations’ digital infrastructure.
Additionally, 63 per cent of respondents cited resource constraints, including insufficient personnel or expertise, as contributing factors to their susceptibility. For large enterprises (3,000+ employees), lack of expertise topped the list, while mid-sized organisations (251–500 employees) most frequently cited a lack of personnel.
The use of data backups to restore information following an attack has fallen to its lowest point in six years, with only 54 per cent of companies relying on backups — a drop from previous years.
Despite this, organisations are recovering faster: 53 per cent reported full recovery within one week, up from 35 per cent in 2024. Only 18 percent of firms took over a month to recover, a significant improvement from last year’s 34 per cent.
Sophos attributes these gains to better incident response capabilities and a growing trend toward using Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services.
Such services help companies detect attacks early, respond effectively, and, in some cases, stop attacks in progress.
The report also found significant variation in ransom demands based on industry and company size, adding that organisations with over $1 billion in revenue faced median ransom demands of $5 million; those earning $250 million or less saw demands under $350,000; state and local governments reported the highest median ransom payments at $2.5 million and healthcare organisations paid the lowest, at a median of $150,000.
While attackers are still extracting sizable payments, the overall cost of ransomware recovery has dropped, from $2.73 million in 2024 to $1.53 million in 2025. Sophos credits increased preparedness, improved threat visibility, and wider use of professional response services for this decline.
To further reduce the risk and impact of ransomware, Sophos advises organisations to regularly patch known vulnerabilities and maintain updated security systems; employ multi-factor authentication (MFA) and anti-ransomware protection across all endpoints; use MDR services or maintain 24/7 internal security monitoring; test and maintain a robust incident response plan and ensure regular backups are not only taken but tested for restoration.
As ransomware evolves, so must corporate defenses.
Though the profitability of ransomware remains alarmingly high, the increasing resilience among targeted organisations is a sign of hope and a call to action for those still behind the curve.
E-Business
NCS Advocates Digital Literacy to Enhanced Cyber Security

Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) recently advocated digital literacy to enhance cyber security in the country.
Muhammad Aliyu, president, NCS, said this in an interview with reporter on the sidelines of the Cybersecurity Forum and Workshop organised by the society in Abuja.
The event had as its theme: `Digital Sovereignty: Building an Agile and Resilient Nation.’
According to him, cyber-attacks were growing in scale, sophistication and impact.
Aliyu said the cyber security landscape in 2024 was shaped by increasing reliance on digital space.
He said that to tackle these challenges, countries and organisations should adopt proactive strategies that leverage local innovations, address skills gaps, and ensure regulatory compliance.
He said collaboration among governments, the private sector and experts was vital for creating a resilient digital ecosystem.
‘’The future of cyber security relies on continuous innovation, education, and collaboration to protect our interconnected world,’’ he said.
He told the reporter that the forum was meant to bring together policymakers, cyber security experts, academics, industry leaders, and practitioners to harness strategies and share insights on achieving cyber security sovereignty.
“The focus is on assessing a nation’s capability to govern, regulate, protect and secure its digital infrastructure, data, technological assets, and cyber-environment.
“These are vital for preserving national security and digital economy, personal data privacy safeguards, and technological dependency,’’Aliyu said.
He emphasised the importance of dialogue and shared expertise in strengthening collective cyber security and ensuring a safer digital future.
Aliyu encouraged participants to take advantage of the forum’s networking opportunities, leveraging their diversity to learn from one another and broaden their knowledge on defending against cyber threats.
‘’The Nigerian Computer Society is committed to creating platforms for IT professionals to share knowledge and stay up-to-date with challenges in the sector,’’ he said.
NCS is umbrella and the premier body of all Computing and Information Technology (IT) professionals, interest groups, and stakeholders in Nigeria.
It’s core mission is to advance the science and practice of computing and information technology in the country.
E-Business
ChatGPT-mimicking Cyberthreats Surge 115% in Early 2025, SMBs Increasingly Targeted

In 2025, nearly 8,500 users from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) globally faced cyberattacks where malicious or unwanted software was disguised as popular online productivity tools, Kaspersky reports.
Based on the unique malicious and unwanted files observed, the most common lures included Zoom and Microsoft Office, with newer AI-based services like ChatGPT and DeepSeek being increasingly exploited by attackers. Kaspersky has released threat analysis and mitigation strategies to help SMBs respond.
Kaspersky analysts explored how frequently malicious and unwanted software are disguised as legitimate applications commonly used by SMBs, using a sample of 12 online productivity apps. In total, Kaspersky observed more than 4,000 unique malicious and unwanted files disguised as popular apps in 2025. With the growing popularity of AI services, cybercriminals are increasingly disguising malware as AI tools.
The number of cyberthreats mimicking ChatGPT increased by 115% in the first four months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, reaching 177 unique malicious and unwanted files. Another popular AI tool, DeepSeek, accounted for 83 files. This large language model launched in 2025 immediately appeared on the list of impersonated tools.
“Interestingly, threat actors are rather picky in choosing an AI tool as bait. For example, no malicious files mimicking Perplexity were observed. The likelihood that an attacker will use a tool as a disguise for malware or other types of unwanted software directly depends on the service’s popularity and hype around it. The more publicity and conversation there is around a tool, the more likely a user will come across a fake package on the Internet.
To be on the safe side, SMB employees – as well as regular users – should exercise caution when looking for software on the Internet or coming across too-good-to-be-true subscription deals. Always check the correct spelling of the website and links in suspicious emails. In many cases these links may turn out to be phishing or a link that downloads malicious or potentially unwanted software,” says Vasily Kolesnikov, security expert at Kaspersky.
Another cybercriminal tactic to look for in 2025 is the growing use of collaboration platform brands to trick users into downloading or launching malware. The number of malicious and unwanted software files disguised as Zoom increased by nearly 13% in 2025, reaching 1,652, while such names as “Microsoft Teams” and “Google Drive” saw increases of 100% and 12%, respectively, with 206 and 132 cases.
This pattern likely reflects the normalisation of remote work and geographically distributed teams, which has made these platforms integral to business operations across industries.
Among the analysed sample, the highest number of files mimicked Zoom, accounting for nearly 41% of all unique files detected. Microsoft Office applications remained frequent targets for impersonation: Outlook and PowerPoint each accounted for 16%, Excel for nearly 12%, while Word and Teams made up 9% and 5%, respectively.
The top threats targeting small and medium businesses in 2025 included downloaders, trojans and adware.
Phishing and spam
Apart from malware threats, Kaspersky continues to observe a wide range of phishing and scam schemes targeting SMBs. Attackers aim to steal login credentials for various services — from delivery platforms to banking systems — or manipulate victims into sending them money through deceptive tactics. One example is a phishing attempt targeting Google Accounts.
Attackers promise potential victims to increase sales by advertising their company on X, with the ultimate goal being to steal their credentials.
Beyond phishing, SMBs are flooded with spam emails. Not surprisingly, AI has also made its way into the spam folder — for example, with offers for automating various business processes.
In general, Kaspersky observes phishing and spam offers crafted to reflect the typical needs of small businesses, promising attractive deals on email marketing or loans, offering services such as reputation management, content creation, or lead generation, and more.
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