General News
Sophos Endpoint Security Advancements Improve Cyberthreat Defenses and Streamline Management
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, on Monday introduced innovative advancements to its portfolio of industry-leading endpoint security offerings.
New adaptive active adversary protection; Linux malware protection enhancements; account health check capabilities; an integrated zero trust network access (ZTNA) agent for Windows and macOS devices; and more improve frontline defenses against advanced cyberthreats and streamline endpoint security management.
“Ransomware remains one of the most prevalent and damaging cyberthreats to organizations, with Sophos incident responders still consistently remediating ransomware activity worldwide.
“Now isn’t the time for organizations to let their guard down because of any perceived reduction in attacks; in fact, they should be strengthening defenses as attacks are now more intricate and difficult to detect, requiring advanced security techniques that can sense and then quickly adapt to better protect themselves,” said Raja Patel, senior vice president of products at Sophos.
“Sophos endpoint security is widely recognized as the industry gold standard, and we’re consistently innovating our market-leading, intelligent endpoint technologies to keep organizations ahead of unrelenting attackers.”
Designed to improve protection and operational efficiency, as well as speed up detection and response, the new Sophos endpoint innovations include:
· Adaptive active adversary protection: A core part of Sophos’ “shields up” design methodology that provides defenders with additional time needed to respond to targeted attacks underway.
Sophos Intercept X immediately enables heightened defenses as soon as it detects a “hands-on-keyboard” endpoint intrusion. This wide-reaching step up in defensive measures removes an attacker’s ability to take further actions by minimizing the attack surface, disrupting and containing the attack prior to response team engagement, and providing insights needed for complete remediation.
· Linux malware protection enhancements: On-access malware scanning and quarantine capabilities improve real-time prevention of security incidents within Linux operating environments. Added to the Sophos Intercept X Advanced for Server offering, these new features complement existing functionality, including live runtime detections and response to container escapes, cryptominers, data destruction, and kernel exploits
· Account health check: Intuitive, real-time health check monitoring of security configurations and policy settings with the ability to automatically return to recommended settings in a single click, optimizing security posture and enabling organizations to promptly re-establish security best practices. Assessments ensure devices are running the necessary security components, policies are following recommended settings, tamper protection is active, exclusions aren’t creating attack surface exposure, and more
· Integrated ZTNA agent for Windows and macOS devices: Sophos Intercept X is one of the only endpoint protection solutions with a modular ZTNA agent, and organizations can now extend defenses to include Sophos ZTNA across entire estates without deploying an additional agent
· Faster, lightweight agent: Reduces the Windows agent’s memory footprint by 40% and the number of processes by more than 30%, accelerating the performance of applications, workloads and devices. Sophos has also introduced a new extended detection and response (XDR) sensor deployment option that’s approximately 80% lighter than the previous full agent
Sophos endpoint solutions provide deep learning malware detection, anti-ransomware technology, exploit prevention, and much more to prevent attackers from gaining a foothold in the first place. Sophos Intercept X, the market-leading endpoint security solution, protects more than 300,000 organizations against both known and unknown malware and exploits.
Sophos XDR gives security analysts the ability to proactively hunt threats, providing faster detection, investigation and response to drive better security outcomes. Sophos endpoint offerings also include server workload protection for unmatched server and container security and integrated web and application controls; Sophos Mobile for secure unified endpoint management; and Sophos Encryption for full disk encryption.
Sophos’ complete and integrated portfolio of endpoint, network and cloud solutions and managed security services are part of the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem. They’re powered by threat intelligence from Sophos X-Ops for faster and more contextual and synchronized protection, detection and response.
Renewable energy firm Daystar Power Group has expanded its installed solar capacity across West Africa through a partnership with Nestlé, bringing total deployments to 6,884 kilowatt-peak (kWp), or nearly 7 megawatts (MW), in what the company describes as one of the largest commercial and industrial solar partnerships in the region.
Four manufacturing facilities across Nestlé sites in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Senegal are now operational, with installations located in Abidjan, Tema and Dakar.
Daystar Power has installed 3,447 kWp across two sites in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. In Ghana, a 2,547 kWp system powers Nestlé’s Tema factory, while in Senegal an 890 kWp installation operates at the Dakar facility.
The company said each system is designed to deliver measurable environmental impact, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved energy resilience.
The installations are tailored to local operational and grid conditions to ensure reliable renewable energy supply while supporting Nestlé’s net-zero ambitions and its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Nearly 7MW across four Nestlé facilities is a number we are proud of, but what it represents matters more than the figure itself. It means that one of the world’s most demanding manufacturers has tested our model, trusted it, and come back. Our job now is to keep earning that across every market where industry needs energy it can count on,” said Yischai Beinisch, CEO of Daystar Power Group.
Samer Chedid, CEO of Nestlé Central and West Africa Region, said: “This investment reflects our commitment to building a business that not only grows but does so responsibly.
“By advancing solar energy projects in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, we are embedding sustainability into our growth, reinforcing our role as a force for good, creating long-term value for communities and ensuring that our footprint actively contributes to a cleaner, more resilient future.”
The National Credit Guarantee Company Limited (NCGC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at supporting access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
The agreement was signed at the NCGC headquarters in Abuja and outlines areas of cooperation between the two agencies, including financial literacy programmes, credit guarantee support, capacity building, and other initiatives targeted at small businesses.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, NCGC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Bonaventure Okhaimo, said the partnership is intended to provide a framework for expanding financing opportunities available to MSMEs.
According to him, small and medium-sized enterprises play a significant role in economic activity and employment generation across the country.
Okhaimo said NCGC has facilitated ₦32.78 billion in credit and provided over ₦13.09 billion in guarantees through its partnerships with financial institutions. He added that 1,478 businesses and entrepreneurs have benefited from the financing interventions, with 1,682 jobs reportedly created or sustained.
Also speaking, SMEDAN Director-General, Charles Odii, said the collaboration would enable the agency to connect more small businesses with available financing opportunities, particularly Nano and Micro enterprises that often face challenges accessing credit.
The two organisations said the partnership would also involve stakeholder engagement and awareness campaigns to provide information on financing options and the use of credit guarantees in lending arrangements.
The agreement forms part of ongoing efforts by both agencies to support enterprise development and improve access to financial services for small businesses across the country.
Observers say access to finance remains one of the major constraints facing Nigerian MSMEs, making collaborations between public institutions an important aspect of broader economic development initiatives.
Elon Musk is no longer a trillionaire after a sharp global sell-off in technology stocks wiped an estimated $500bn (£379bn) from his personal fortune.
Elon Musk
The billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk had recently become the first individual to reach the trillion-dollar milestone following a record-breaking listing surge for his rocket company SpaceX earlier this month.
However, shares in SpaceX have since fallen by around 30% from their peak, while Tesla was also caught in a broader technology market downturn on Tuesday, June 23.
His net worth now stands at $957.1bn, according to analysis by Bloomberg, while calculations by Forbes suggest his fortune previously peaked at $1.45tn last week.
The drop in Musk’s wealth over the past week exceeds the total fortune of Larry Page, whose estimated net worth stands at just under $297bn.
The decline comes amid two consecutive days of losses on Wall Street, with more than $89bn wiped from Tesla’s market value after its shares fell 5.8% on Tuesday. Chipmaker Nvidia also dropped 4.1% during the same session.
Traders have warned that further volatility may follow after memory-chip producer Micron Technology prepares to release its third-quarter results, amid concerns that artificial intelligence valuations may be overheating.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs cautioned that AI-linked stocks could be vulnerable if there are signs of slowing investment from major tech firms.
Ben McKeown, an investment manager at Dowgate Wealth, said Musk’s fortune remains highly exposed due to its concentration in two major holdings.
He said: “The old adage is, you concentrate to build wealth and diversify to keep it. Musk is the most extreme example of this.
Almost his entire net worth sits in Tesla and SpaceX, which have been extremely volatile, especially SpaceX as the shareholder base starts to be unlocked and becomes free to sell.”
Musk had briefly become the world’s first trillionaire on June 12 following the listing surge of SpaceX, which saw its shares jump as much as 67% in its first three days of trading after an IPO that valued the company at more than $1.8tn.
However, the stock later fell for three consecutive sessions, erasing around $928bn in market value from a peak of $2.9tn to just over $2tn, before a slight recovery.
The scale of his recent wealth decline is now considered the largest on record, surpassing his previous loss in 2022 when his fortune fell by an estimated $165bn amid a slump in Tesla shares.
Another billionaire affected by recent market turbulence is Larry Ellison, whose net worth peaked at around $400bn last September before falling to approximately $210bn following a major sell-off in Oracle shares.
Privacy Crisis May Undermine Local Hosting of Data by Banks, Fintechs
AI-Powered Scams are Biggest Payment Fraud Threat -Visa Report
How to Build a Safer Cyberworld for People, Business, and Society
Nestlé Commits to Boosting West Africa Solar Rollout Through Partnership
Airtel Africa Foundation Launches Airtel Green Schools to Promote Sustainability Education in Nigeria
CBN Extends PoS Geo-Fencing Enforcement Deadline to August 2026
London Strengthens Global Investment Ties with Africa @ First Ever London-Africa Business Summit
FG Targets Alleged N3tn Capital Flight, Opens Airtime Credit Market to Nigerian Fintechs
Mobile Internet Gender Gap Widest in Africa – GSMA
Japan, UNESCO Boost Digital Learning in 15 CoEs with Donation of ICT Equipment
E-Business3 days agoKaspersky Discovered a Malware Campaign Targeting Steam Users Through Infected Wallpaper
Telecom3 days agoBig Tech Shake-Up: Zuckerberg Announces Sudden WhatsApp Leadership Change
Broadcasting3 days agoCANAL+ Partners Samsung to Pre-Load DStv Stream on New Samsung TVs In Nigeria, Other African Countries
General News3 days agoFiona Ahimie Launches LEADHER Mentorship Session to Inspire the Next Generation of Female Leaders
News3 days agoNESREA Defends Plastic Waste Rules, Says Policy Targets Pollution
E-Financial3 days agoFG Engages Banks on RevOp, New Digital Platform for Revenue Generation
News3 days agoCredibleVoteNG Opens Free Access to all Polling Units in Nigeria after INEC Demanded N1.Bn for Register
News3 days agoArridex Floats West Africa’s First Multi-tech 3D Industrial Omnifactory in Lagos