Telecom
Sophos’ Industry-First Vendor-Agnostic MDR Service Grows Customer Base by 33%, Six Months after Launch
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, has announced that its industry-first vendor-agnostic Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service has grown its customer base by 33% in the first six months since introducing the service’s ability to ingest and analyze telemetry from third-party security vendors. Already, Sophos is processing more than 150 million alerts from nearly 30 other security providers.
Sophos has also added a new team of MDR experts in Germany to service the increasing demand in the German and European markets, as well as to support the existing globally located MDR team that monitors and defends organizations 24/7/365.
The service now protects more than 16,000 organizations worldwide and has been doubling in size year-over-year as the industry’s most widely used MDR offering.
MDR services are fast becoming an essential cybersecurity layer as attackers refine their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to overwhelm defenders. This includes decreasing their dwell time, as evidenced in Sophos’ 2023 Active Adversary Report for Business Leaders report, also announced today.
Reduced dwell time indicates attackers are working faster to accomplish their end goal, whether it’s stealing data, deploying ransomware, spying, or perpetrating some other nefarious activity against a target. Consequently, defenders have less time to respond, from identifying the presence of attackers to neutralizing them.
Analysis of incident response cases shows that median dwell times are dropping significantly – down to 10 days for the first time, and a day less for ransomware cases – and attacks are occurring continuously instead of during off business hours or over the weekend. Just as interesting, there’s no significant difference in dwell time among organizations of different sizes or sectors.
“The adoption of MDR is skyrocketing because organizations need 24×7 teams of experts to simply take over and handle cyberattacks that are executed in less time, change quickly and are more complex in nature. These factors put Sophos in the ideal position to further trailblaze the market,” said Rob Harrison, vice president of product management for security operations solutions at Sophos.
“Since introducing our game-changing ability to ingest, collate and correlate other security vendors’ signals, we’ve already processed more than 150 million non-Sophos alerts from nearly 30 common providers.
“We’re leading the market in terms of volume, variety and time with unique MDR data from both Sophos and the other security providers. With this advantage of ingesting data from third-party sources, we have broader context, enabling us to make better decisions, defend faster and apply deeper knowledge to new and existing MDR customers.”
“The MDR market is gaining momentum as companies scramble to stay one step ahead of rapidly evolving attacks that continue to increase in number, sophistication and complexity while simultaneously trying to manage the cybersecurity talent skills shortage reality.
“Since its launch in October, Sophos MDR has mirrored that momentum as organizations look to realize secure outcomes and reduce their cybersecurity risk posture from their existing cybersecurity investments.
“The benefit of Sophos’s technology-agnostic managed service approach is that it meets customers where they are rather than requiring investment in new security tools to achieve an outcome,” said Frank Dickson, group vice president for IDC’s Security and Trust research practice.
Sophos MDR successfully reported malicious activity across all 10 MITRE ATT&CK steps in the first-ever independent MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluation for security service providers. Sophos MDR was evaluated with 15 vendors, excelling in its ability to detect sophisticated threats with speed and precision.
Sophos was named the only Leader across the G2 Grid Reports for MDR, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Platforms, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), Endpoint Protection Suites, and Firewall Software in the G2 Spring 2023 Reports. In the Managed Detection and Response (MDR) Services market on Gartner® Peer Insights®, Sophos MDR is the highest rated and most reviewed MDR service with a 4.8 rating across 296 reviews as of April 24, 2023.
Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) hosted its annual Made of Africa (MOA) 2025 Awards on Monday, February 4, 2026. The event, held during the NGX year-end celebrations, brought together regulators, listed companies, and market operators such as MTN, BUA, Dangote, Transcorp, to celebrate achievements in compliance, sustainability, and market performance.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, the Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Limited, said “Excellence in compliance, sustainability, and several other categories recognises the fact that capital market operators and quoted companies must be standards not only in terms of the size of their operations but also adherence to regulations and best practices of corporate social responsibilities.”
He emphasised that the awards serve as a benchmark for excellence. He noted that the 2025 honourees demonstrated significant improvements in branding, customer service, and operational standards despite a challenging economic environment in Nigeria.
Among the evening’s significant winners was MTN Nigeria, which was honoured for its commitment to corporate transparency. The technology giant received the award for Leadership in Sustainability Reporting, emerging as the winner in a category that included Seplat Energy, BUA Cement, and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria PLC.
The award recognised the brand’s adherence to both national and global reporting standards, reflecting its role in advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices within the Nigerian corporate space.
Tobe Okigbo, Chief Corporate Services & Sustainability Officer, MTN Nigeria, said “This recognition for Leadership in Sustainability Reporting underscores our commitment to transparency and aligning with global best practices.
“As the capital market moves toward greater accountability, MTN Nigeria remains dedicated to demonstrating resilience and faith in the Nigerian economy through comprehensive and standard-compliant reporting.”
The ceremony saw several other major players in the financial sector secure multiple accolades. Chapel Hill Denham emerged as one of the night’s most successful firms, winning in categories including Fund Manager with the Largest Listed Fund Size and Market Operator with the Highest Value of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) Transactions.
Other notable winners included: Cardinal Stone Securities Limited, named Broker of the Year and Equity Trader of the Year, Dangote Cement was awarded Best Issuer in terms of Fixed Income Listings, BUA Cement PLC was recognised as the Most Compliant Listed Company, and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) PLC received special recognition for Capital Market Excellence in Equity.
Mr. Jude Chiemeka, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited, congratulated the recipients, noting that the market saw a 51% close in the All-Share Index last year, making it the second-best performing market globally. He urged winners and nominees alike to continue striving for excellence to further the aspiration of a $1 trillion Nigerian economy.
Nigeria’s broadband landscape remains anchored by 4G LTE at 52.95% market share in December 2025, with 2G holding steady at 37.37%, while 5G penetration crawls at just 3.77%, per Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data.
4G’s dominance stems from urban smartphone migrations and MTN-Airtel infrastructure expansions, fuelling the digital economy, as 2G persists in rural areas due to feature phone reliance and a stubborn device gap.
5G growth stalls from high smartphone costs amid inflation, telco preference for 4G’s quicker returns over capital-heavy 5G rollouts, and limited mainstream apps beyond elite urban streaming in Lagos and Abuja.
Broadband subscriptions topped 112 million, lifting penetration to 51.97%—up from 42.2% in October 2024—crossing the halfway mark for the first time, though monthly gains of 2-3 million slowed mid-year amid population growth and regional disparities.
The NCC’s 70% target stays elusive, highlighting sustained urban-rural demand but underscoring needs for affordable devices, infrastructure, and use cases to accelerate high-speed access nationwide.
Nigeria’s internet subscriber base surged to 148.2 million by December 2025, achieving 68.3% penetration, even amid 50% tariff hikes and naira depreciation, according to Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data.
MTN and Airtel dominated with 86% market share, Airtel adding 1 million subscribers in December alone, while Glo and 9mobile lagged as legacy players.
Data consumption exploded 35% to 13.25 million terabytes yearly, but Nigerians spent ₦20.87 billion daily—totalling ₦7.62 trillion ($5.58 billion)—as gigabyte prices doubled from ₦287 to ₦575.
User frustrations mounted from network failures, thousands of fibre cuts due to construction and vandalism between January and August 2025, and poor service quality despite billions in revenue. 4G LTE held 52.95% share as the workhorse, 2G clung to 37.37% in rural areas, and 5G remained a 3.77% urban luxury limited by device costs and base stations.
The NCC’s 70% broadband target fell short at 51.97%, though the ICT sector boosted Q3 GDP by ₦7.47 trillion and restored telco profits post-2024 losses.
In 2026, attention shifts to quality matching rising costs, with users urged to stay powered amid persistent “spinning wheel” woes.
LG Nigeria Begins Nationwide Search for Oldest Working TV, Rewards Loyalty with AI QNED Upgrade
AfCFTA, AGRA Collaborate to Reduce Non-tariff Barriers to Intra-African Food Trade
African Leaders Highlight Africa’s AI Ambitions
MTN, BUA, Dangote & Other Industry Giants Triumph at NGX Made of Africa Awards
4G Dominates Nigeria’s Broadband as 5G Lags Behind
Firm Detected a Fivefold Surge in QR Code Phishing Attacks in the Second Half of 2025
Nigeria’s 9 Top FinTech Firms Valued at $10.6Bn in January 2026
DG NCC Tasks University Dons on Research Commercialization, IP Management to Build Global Competitive Ecosystems
Firm Detected a Scam Exploiting OpenAI’s Teamwork Features
Kaspersky Launches OT Calculator to Align Cybersecurity Investments with Business Goals
General News2 days agoNigeria’s Banks Race to Meet CBN Recapitalisation Deadline Amid Verification Push
General News2 days agoJumia Targets Break-even in 2026 After Strong Q4 Surge
General News2 days agoBOI, MTN Foundation Unveil N1Bn Fund for Women Entrepreneurs
General News1 day agoUBA Unveils Diaspora Platform to Connect Global Africans with Investment, Wealth Opportunities
E-Financial2 days agoNo VAT on Land, Buildings and Rent Under New Tax Law — Oyedele
E-Financial2 days agoIs Nigeria Borrowing to Survive or to Build?
E-Financial2 days agoCBN Slams Up to N10m Fine on Banks and Cheque Printers for Security Breaches
General News21 hours agoLeo Stan Ekeh Foundation, Zinox Group To Invest 10B on 1000 University Tech Scholarships for Indigent Nigeria Wiz-kids