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Weco Systems Partners NNPC on Next Generation Data Centre

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The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the National Oil Corporation through which the federal government of Nigeria regulates and participates in the country’s petroleum industry.

NNPC by law manages the joint venture between the Nigerian federal government and a number of foreign multinational corporations. Through collaboration with these companies, the Nigerian government conducts petroleum exploration and production.

Like many other large corporations, NNPC faces a changing set of business demands. These include the need to simplify operations, make better use of assets, and reduce costs, while also improving application performance and end user experience through increased availability, speed, and agility of services.

A technological evaluation of suitable network components prompted the question of an overall architecture that could help ensure the future value for NNPC’s data center.

NNPC’s existing infrastructure had served it for years, but was beginning to be challenged by the need to provide more bandwidth for applications while meeting the need to physically separate traffic for the various departments.

Within the data center, bundling links to increase bandwidth was a complicated operation demanding a lot of extra cabling.

Overall business agility was constrained by a shortage of maintenance windows.

User demand meant that there were only two weekend-long maintenance windows each year for major upgrades, and these had to be shared with other teams, such as those managing servers.

NNPC evaluated several proposals and selected the solution presented by Weco Systems, a Cisco Tier one GOLD partner.

Weco Systems investigated the technology options.

While it was possible to upgrade the existing infrastructure it became clear that a far better choice was to re-design the network using ADVANCED CISCO NEXUS SERIES SWITCHES.

This new platform has been specifically designed for data centers and is a major step forward in increasing availability, speed, and ease of operations.

The Cisco Nexus platform is a technology foundation and key enabler of Cisco Data Center Business Advantage, an architectural approach that provides tighter integration of servers, networks, and storage systems, which in turn helps to deliver new improvements in performance and cost efficiency.

With its Cisco and Network refresh, NNPC adopted an enterprise-class network to support increased demands from constituents. Since the solution was implemented, network stability issues have become a thing of the past and IT help desk incidents have declined. As a result, IT staff can make more efficient use of their budget and staff can spend time focusing on more strategic initiatives to improve customer service across departments.

During the commissioning of the state of the art Data Centre, the General Manager, ISD; Don Aholu while welcoming the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engr. Andy Yakubu and other Chiefs within the corporate said that delivery of the Data Centre is one of the initiatives that IT has successfully undertaken within the last two and half years in a deliberate attempt to transform NNPC to a world class organization.

He explained that the Data Centre was built to host the most demanding and mission critical enterprise and line of business systems and solutions.

He further reiterated that hosting of NNPC mission critical business solutions in the Data Centre instead of with third parties is expected to yield savings of $5 million dollars per annum for the corporation.

He said that to ensure availability of business systems 24/7, the Data Centre will be supported by a state of the art Business Continuity centre that is nearing completion.

With the added Cisco security features, IT management benefits from tremendous oversight of who and what devices are on the network, whether wired or wireless.

 
IT can also better control the risks associated with that access for some numerous computers serving the large corporation. Weco Systems approach also ensures Web Security Appliance protects users from accessing malicious websites and prevents malware and virus infections.

 
IT administrators can now control access to online web applications and securely allow users to use social networking sites and other Web 2.0 sites for collaboration.

The prevalence of excellent local expertise for Cisco technology, including the skilled consulting and deployment provided by WECO SYSTEMS, allowed the IT department to achieve a swift, easier-than-expected implementation within critical timeframe.

NNPC can take full advantage of these local resources and the robust features of its new data centre to stay on track with new technologies as they emerge for years to come.


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E-Business

Naija Shopping Festival: Konga Offers Unbeatable Christmas Deals

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Nigeria’s leading e-commerce platform, Konga, has unveiled the Naija Shopping Festival, a Christmas sales event designed to offer shoppers extraordinary discounts and unbeatable deals.

This exciting shopping extravaganza begins on December 1 and runs through December 30, promising an unforgettable experience for all.

With discounts of up to 70% off on your favourite products, the Naija Shopping Festival is Konga’s way of spreading festive cheer and ensuring no one misses out on amazing deals.

This event caters especially to those who could not participate in Konga Yakata, giving everyone a chance to save big this holiday season.

The festival boasts a wide array of incredible offers across multiple categories, including mobile phones, electronics, FMCG, fashion, groceries, and accessories.

Shoppers can also enjoy specially curated deals such as Christmas Eve Deals, Flash Sales, Santa Shop, and Hamper Packs, ensuring there’s something for everyone this festive period.

Konga is partnering with top global brands such as Apple, Starlink, HP, Zinox, CeraVe, Lenovo, Haier Thermocool, Samsung, and Infinix to deliver the best possible deals. Customers can expect discounts of up to 70% on premium products, ensuring maximum value on every purchase.

Speaking on the launch, Onochie Melvin, E-commerce Manager at Konga, stated, “The Naija Shopping Festival is our way of giving back to our customers and making this Christmas season special for every Nigerian.

“We remain committed to easing the financial burden on Nigerian consumers, especially during challenging economic times. Also, we want to ensure shopping is fun, affordable, and stress-free. With our trusted partners, we’ve curated the best deals to meet the needs of every shopper during this festive period.”

As always, Konga is committed to making shopping easy and convenient for Nigerians.

“By offering substantial price cuts and collaborating with trusted brands, Konga continues to set the standard for e-commerce in Nigeria.

To have a feel of Konga’s Naija Shopping Festival, visit www.konga.com today and make your Christmas shopping a joyful experience.

 


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TD Africa Joins Forces with Check Point to Enhance Cybersecurity in Nigeria

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TD Africa, a leading technology distributor in Sub-Saharan Africa, has joined forces with Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., a global cybersecurity leader, to enhance Nigeria’s cybersecurity resilience.

This strategic partnership, announced at a partner roundtable event in Lagos and attended by industry executives, stakeholders, and IT professionals, facilitated discussions on emerging cybersecurity trends and fostered strategic partnerships.

Participants explored innovative approaches to digital security, concluding with a networking session designed to spark future collaborations and strengthen Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Abiodun Idowu, Assistant General Manager for TD Africa, highlighted the company’s dedication to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions, saying: “This partnership with Check Point reflects our commitment to providing advanced tools that safeguard businesses against today’s complex cyber threats.”

Check Point’s Security Manager, Victor Ugwu, who underscored the partnership’s significance in strengthening cybersecurity frameworks in Nigeria, said, “With this collaboration with TD Africa, we aim to deploy innovative solutions like Harmony and CloudGuard to protect organizations across the country.”

TD Africa now offers Check Point’s Harmony and Email Collaboration solutions, incorporating Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technology to enable secure connectivity for remote and hybrid work environments.

Additionally, the partnership provides CloudGuard, an end-to-end cloud security solution, and Quantum Firewall appliances, which scale to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.

This partnership reinforces TD Africa’s position as a driving force in Nigeria’s technological advancement. By delivering robust cybersecurity solutions, TD Africa empowers businesses to navigate the digital age with confidence and resilience.


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Kaspersky Contributes to Joint INTERPOL-AFRIPOL Operation Combating Cybercrime Across Africa

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Kaspersky has recently assisted its partner law enforcement agencies INTERPOL and AFRIPOL in a joint effort to disrupt cybercrime across the African region.

Dubbed “Serengeti,” the operation has led to the arrest of more than 1,000 individuals suspected of links to cybercrimes such as ransomware operation and business email compromise (BEC) attacks, resulting in nearly US $193 million in financial losses worldwide.

As Africa is going through a rapid digitisation, the threat of cybercrime on the continent is also escalating. In the African region in general and West Africa in particular, ransomware emerges as one of the most prominent attack vectors, targeting critical infrastructure, financial institutions, and manufacturing facilities, among others.

During the first 10 months of 2024, ransomware detections in West Africa surged by 36% year-on-year, according to Kaspersky data. Other noticeable cyberthreats targeting users and organisations in the region include spyware and password stealers.

Conducted from September 2 to October 31, operation Serengeti dismantled 134,089 malicious infrastructures and networks linked to cybercrimes including ransomware operations, BEC attacks, digital extortion and online scams — all identified as prominent threats in INTERPOL’s 2024 Africa Cyber Threat Assessment Report.

Kaspersky has contributed to the operation by sharing information on threat actors, data on ransomware attacks and malware targeting the region, as well as up-to-date indicators of compromise (IoCs) for malicious infrastructure across Africa.

Among the malware targeting African countries was also a well-known Brazilian banking trojan Grandoreiro – Kaspersky recently released new findings on this trojan at its Security Analyst Summit. Additionally, ransomware families detected in attacks on African organisations among others included LockBit, Rhysida, and Medusa.

The operation has also resulted in the identification of more than 35,000 victims of cyber offenses investigated.

Valdecy Urquiza, Secretary General of INTERPOL, said: “From multi-level marketing scams to credit card fraud on an industrial scale, the increasing volume and sophistication of cybercrime attacks is of serious concern.

Operation Serengeti shows what we can achieve by working together, and these arrests alone will save countless potential future victims from real personal and financial pain. We know that this is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will continue targeting these criminal groups worldwide.”

Ambassador Jalel Chelba, AFRIPOL’s Acting Executive Director said: “Through Serengeti, AFRIPOL has significantly enhanced support for law enforcement in African Union Member States. We’ve facilitated key arrests and deepened insights into cybercrime trends. Our focus now includes emerging threats like AI-driven malware and advanced attack techniques.”

“We are proud to contribute to this multi-stakeholder operation orchestrated by INTERPOL and AFRIPOL,” comments Yuliya Shlychkova, Vice President, Global Public Affairs, Kaspersky. “The emerging dynamics of the threat landscape in Africa requires a stronger regional dialogue on mitigating acute cybersecurity risks.

Kaspersky firmly supports INTERPOL’s and AFRIPOL’s efforts to prevent and disrupt cybercrime attacks across Africa and shares the holistic approach towards creating a more cyber-resilient environment within the continent.”

Thanks to the cooperation with INTERPOL and AFRIPOL, Kaspersky has been an active contributor to fostering a more cyber-savvy environment in the African region.

In addition to the vast record of joint operations in Africa, with the latest being INTERPOL-led operation Synergia II, Kaspersky has recently sealed a five-year cooperation agreement with AFRIPOL to further strengthen its role in creating a more cybersafe climate on the continent by sharing Kaspersky’s extensive data on local cyberthreats and cybercrime trends with the organisation.


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