Technology
ISSAN Seeks Collaborative Efforts to Check Rising Cyber Threats
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
An urgent review of the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2015 has been called for by the Information Security Society of Africa, Nigeria (ISSAN).
According to the cybersecurity stakeholders, the review will make the law meet the current realities as it will capture the latest trends in the industry.
Speaking at the Quarter 1, 2022 ISSAN Cybersecurity Conference themed Payment Systems Platform Security in Lagos, the president of ISSAN, Dr David Isiavwe, said as the COVID-19 pandemic is gradually easing out, organisations are now settling for a hybrid way of working and providing services for customers while being mindful of the enlarged cyber threat.
He noted that new forms of attacks are being contrived and implemented by criminals through various means on individuals, nation-states and corporate bodies, stressing that cyber security gatekeepers are not spared as large sums of money are usually at risk in every successful attack.
“What we see on the horizon is that Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are becoming alarming; Ransomware attacks are not relenting. There are more phishing and password targeted attacks.
“Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks remain a growing problem. The loss globally is colossal. In Africa, Nigeria is expected to lead in terms of estimated loss due to our size. There is, therefore, the urgent need to brainstorm on how to keep payment systems platforms safer,” he said.
For a way forward, Dr Isiavwe, who is also a General Manager at Ecobank Nigeria, emphasised that banks and organisations need to be proactive, keep customers educated and updated on new threats and trends in cyberspace, automate and continuously monitor their systems and infrastructure, and also place a high premium on artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and data analytics.
In his keynote address, Director, Payment System Management Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Musa Jimoh commended the activities of ISSAN on enhancing a safer and secured payment ecosystem, stressing that the apex bank is committed to initiatives that would promote and enhance payment system security to check cyber fraud in the nation’s financial system.
He maintained that the financial sector cannot afford to fail as the payment system is vital to the functioning of any economic system.
According to him, “Data security is important for customers and a tool for financial inclusion. Banks are the custodian of customers’ information based on trust and should therefore put structures in place to prevent breaches and information theft. They should not compromise customers’ credentials as it would give cybercriminals access to defraud them.”
Mr Jimoh further stated that the entrance of Fintechs to the financial landscape has engendered stiffer competition, noting that “all responsible officers in charge of information security in organizations should keep track and always check and see the right things are done for the entities that are allowed to connect to their infrastructure.
“Banks should address infrastructure deficiencies, ensure operational resilience, introduce second or multi-factor authorisation, ensures banking payment infrastructure are formidable, address privacy violations, carry out end to end encryption to protect stored data, and also adhere to KYC provisions to avoid terrorism financing and money laundering.”
In her technical presentation, Managing Director, CreditRegistry Plc, Dr Jameela Ayedun, recommended a collaborative approach by banks, CBN, government agencies such as National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and others to enhance cyber security.
According to her, “Cyber security is the responsibility of all. The cybercriminals are still on a rampage therefore we must protect our payment systems and not give anything to chance.
“We must educate our consumers and should not be a silent victim. The payment service providers must have the basic requirements. The government also has a role to play in this regard. We should emphasise the privacy and integrity of our payment systems.”
Also, in his technical presentation titled: Anatomy of the New Fraudsters – A Nigeria Perspective, Head, Growth and Partnership – West Africa, BPC Technologies, Emmanuel Obinne, observed that cyber frauds transcend borders and boundaries. He gave a rundown of different types of frauds and maintained that relevant cyber laws should be put in place to check cyber criminality.
According to him, “Fraud management is a journey and not a destination. Proper laws should be in place to punish cybercriminals. Organizations should regularly upgrade their payment systems and security to avoid vulnerability. This will also fast track authorization and authentication of transactions. Second-factor authorization is also important to check fraud. The customers must constantly be educated to make them have more confidence in the payment system.”
Other panellists at the hybrid summit were Chairman, Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN), Yinka Tiamiyu; Chief Information Security Officer, Heritage Bank, Ighoakpo Eduje, and Managing Partner, Technology Advisors LLP, Basil Udotai. The session was moderated by the Head, Internal Audit, FBN Holdings, Dr Bode Oguntoke.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The reach of the Meta Business Agent is being expanded to Instagram and other platforms of the social media giant.
Meta Business Agent is an artificial intelligence (AI) that allows business owners to attend to customers’ needs with ease.
Customers expect instant responses, but no team can be everywhere at once. This innovation handles such without hassles.
It helps businesses to answer questions specific to the business, makes product recommendations from the catalogue, books appointments, qualifies incoming leads, and closes sales.
More than one million businesses are already using a Meta Business Agent on WhatsApp and Messenger to respond to customers around the clock.
“We’re now expanding our Business Agent to businesses big and small globally, so within minutes you can have yours up and running, responding in your customer’s local language using your tone,” Meta said in a statement.
“We’re also expanding these agents to Instagram since businesses connect with their customers there, too. Businesses can activate their Business Agent here. Getting started with the Business Agent is free. In the coming months, businesses will access the agent through our paid subscription offerings, with options for businesses of every size,” it added.
Meta also stated that it is making it simpler for people to discover businesses powered by a Meta Business Agent directly on WhatsApp. It noted that starting soon, people will be able to find businesses by typing their name in the Search bar, or by sharing their phone number or contact card in chats with friends and family. This way, when more customers reach out, they get a quick, helpful response.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State government plans to expand the city’s data centre capacity to over 250 megawatts (MW) by 2030 as part of efforts to strengthen its digital infrastructure ecosystem.
This was disclosed by the state’s Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, Mr Olatubosun Alake, at the launch of the Kasi Cloud LOS1 data centre facility in Lekki. Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) invested in Kasi Cloud through an $8 million convertible loan note in 2021.
Mr Alake said Lagos already hosts nearly three-quarters of Nigeria’s commercial data centre capacity, adding that the government intends to expand its infrastructure footprint significantly over the next five years.
“There are about 146 additional megawatt data centres planned in the pipeline,” he said. “We envisage that by 2030, we would have over 250 megawatts of data centre capacity in Lagos, three times the current capacity growth.”
The expansion comes as demand for cloud services, AI computing power, and local data storage continues to grow across Nigeria’s digital economy, with Lagos at the forefront, housing thousands of businesses and startups.
Mr Alake said the Kasi Cloud facility represents Lagos’ entry into “large-scale hyperscale AI infrastructure,” signalling the state’s ambition to evolve beyond being known primarily as a startup hub into a major centre for digital infrastructure and AI computing.
“Lagos is no longer simply a startup city,” he said. “It is an infrastructure city.”
The Kasi LOS1 facility is designed as a 40MW hyperscale data centre campus, beginning operations with an initial 7.2MW IT load.
According to Mr Alake, the facility includes advanced GPU computing infrastructure powered by Nvidia H100 and H200 chips, alongside liquid cooling systems and cloud infrastructure services designed to support AI workloads.
The Lagos State government believes such infrastructure will become critical as AI adoption accelerates globally.
Mr Alake said the state is investing in fibre optic networks, smart city technologies, university innovation programmes, and digital government systems to prepare for the transition.
“The AI economy is going to require hundreds of megawatts,” he said. “The market has already made its decision about where digital infrastructure belongs.”
On his part, Mr Johnson Agbogun, co-founder and chief executive officer of Kasi Cloud, said the project was built to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign cloud infrastructure and give African businesses more control over how their data and AI systems are developed.
“Nigerian enterprises are currently spending $850 million every year on foreign cloud infrastructure,” he said. “Every naira spent abroad on cloud and AI infrastructure helps build capabilities somewhere else.”
He added that the facility runs GPU-powered AI workloads from local enterprises and described the Lekki campus as “the beginning of Nigeria’s AI factory.”
“As artificial intelligence reshapes economies globally, the nations that control their own compute infrastructure and data will be the ones positioned to lead,” added Mr Kolawole Owodunni, NSIA’s Executive Director and Chief Information Officer.
The goal of Google Search has always been simple: to help you ask anything on your mind. Whether it is a quick fact to help with your daily hustle or a complex question about starting a new business, Nigerians rely on Search every single day.
Over the last year, Google has rapidly reimagined what Search can do with AI. The momentum has been incredible—just one year after its debut, AI Mode has surpassed one billion monthly users globally. As people have realised just how much more Search can do for them, they are searching more than ever before, reaching an all-time high in search queries last quarter. Today at Google I/O, Google shared the next step in its journey to bring together the best of a search engine with the best of AI.
To power this next chapter, Google is officially upgrading Search with Gemini 3.5 Flash as the new default model in AI Mode for everyone worldwide. Delivering sustained frontier performance for agents and coding, Gemini 3.5 Flash is the engine driving the new era of AI-powered Search. Because curiosity doesn’t always fit into standard keywords, this powerful AI model is transforming Search from a tool that simply finds information into an intelligent platform capable of reasoning, monitoring the web, and executing complex tasks on your behalf.
Here is a look at the four biggest AI-powered announcements coming to Google Search:
1. A Completely Reimagined Search Box
Google is introducing the biggest upgrade to its Search box in over 25 years. Now completely reimagined with AI, the new intelligent Search box dynamically expands to give you the space to describe exactly what you need. It goes beyond simple autocomplete by anticipating your intent and helping you phrase your questions. You are no longer limited to typing; you can now search using text, images, files, videos, or even Chrome tabs as inputs. Additionally, Google is making it easier to ask follow-up questions directly from an AI Overview, flowing naturally into a conversational back-and-forth where your context stays with you as you explore.
2. New Search Agents That Work in the Background
We are entering the era of Search agents, where you can create and manage multiple AI agents directly in Search. Google is launching “Information agents” that operate in the background 24/7. These agents intelligently scan the web—alongside fresh data on finance, shopping, and sports—to monitor for changes related to your specific questions. For example, if you are house hunting, your agent will continuously scan the market and notify you the moment a listing matches your exact criteria. Furthermore, Search is expanding its agentic booking capabilities; you can soon share specific criteria (like a late-night private karaoke room) and Search will pull the latest pricing and links to finish booking. For certain categories, Google can even call businesses on your behalf.
3. Custom Mini-Apps and Visuals Built Just for You
Search is no longer just returning links; it is now building the ideal response in the perfect format for your query entirely on the fly. By bringing the power of Google Antigravity and the agentic coding capabilities of Gemini 3.5 Flash into Search, users will get a custom “Generative UI.” This means Search can design custom layouts, interactive visuals, tables, graphs, or simulations in real-time. But it goes a step further: if you have an ongoing task, like establishing a new health routine, Search can actually code a custom fitness tracker or mini-app for you. These custom dashboards tap into real-time sources like live maps and weather, giving you a personalised tracker you can return to again and again.
4. Expanded Personal Intelligence Without a Subscription
For AI to be truly helpful, it shouldn’t just know the world’s information—it should understand your personal context, too. To achieve this, Google is expanding Personal Intelligence in AI Mode to more people in nearly 200 countries and territories across 98 languages. Crucially, this is being rolled out with no subscription required. Users can securely connect apps like Gmail, Google Photos, and soon Google Calendar directly to Search. Designed with transparency and choice at its heart, this allows you to safely ask Search to find information buried in your own personal files, always keeping you in complete control of your connected data.
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