TechNews
Social Media Week Lagos 2019 Focuses on Future of Africa
By: Sandra Nnaemeka
SMW Lagos 2019 Set To Be The Conferences Most Ambitious Outing … Campus Expansion, New Programming Tracks, International Collaborations
Social Media Week Lagos, Africa’s largest tech and media gathering, returns to Landmark Centre in Lagos, Nigeria on the 4th through the 8th of February 2019. Annually thousands come to SMW Lagos to hear from globally recognized brands, leading business executives, pop culture luminaries, and the like, all keenly focused on Africa and its future. The 2018 conference hosted 23,364, visitors across the week and garnered an online social reach of 646.6 million. SMW Lagos’ 2019 outing looks to exceed those numbers.
The conference theme for SMW Lagos 2019 is ‘STORIES: With Great Influence Comes Great Responsibility’
“Our stories serve as a reference point and are integral to our identity as Africans. The current digital paradigm has allowed for the amplification of our stories and enabled us to have tremendous impact beyond our communities, our countries and the continent’s borders. It is also the case, that with this impact comes great responsibility and an obligation to use our collective influence to move Africa forward.” – Ngozi Odita, Co-Founder/Executive Director, Social Media Week Lagos
#SMWLAGOS 2019 we’ll take a deep dive into the power of the stories we tell and how as content creators, policymakers, brands, journalists and citizens we can influence our community, customers, audience and constituents for the greater good.
NEW FOR 2019
Every year SMW Lagos looks to improve upon the conference and heighten the attendee experience. For its 2019 edition, SMW Lagos will debut two new programming tracks; PROSPR and WomenFWD. In addition, the #SMWLAGOS campus expands for a second year in a row, with the addition of the #SMWLAGOS Playspace.
PROSPR Gathers fintech founders, finance executives, bankers, economists and other stakeholders to discuss how we leverage technology and digital media to achieve financial inclusion for all and ensure a prosperous Africa for generations to come.
WomenFWD features female founders and key executives from some of Africa’s most innovative brands and women-led tech startups. Programming fosters discussions on the unique challenges women face in the tech space and the huge opportunities available, while also celebrating the accomplishments of African women in tech.
#SMWLAGOS Playspace is a new and fun edition to the #SMWLAGOS Campus. The PlaySpace promotes creativity and collaboration through play.
Also, new for 2019 are two international collaborations, with German international broadcaster Deutsche Welle and US media power house HuffPost. Finally through a partnership with GIGM.com SMW Lagos will introduce daily shuttles from the mainland to the SMW Lagos Campus.
PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS
SMW Lagos conference programming will feature on 3 mainstages, in a masterclass suite, studio suite, speakeasy suite, Meetup Lounge, and 3 Workshop spaces. Experiential programming includes the OFFLINE Wellness Studio, the AfricaNXT Annex and the #SMWLAGOS Beach House. This years event will feature over 400 speakers including Lasisi Elenu, Joey Akan, Collins Onuegbu, Obinna Ezekie, Afua Osei, Eva Alordiah, JJ Omojuwa, Idia Aisien, Banky W, Nedu Wazobia, Eku Edewor, Nkem Begho, Tomi Davies, Basketmouth, Odunayo Eweniyi, Folu Storms, and Bizzle Osikoya
SMW Lagos 2019 take place at Landmark, Centre and runs from the 4th to the 8th of February 2018. To attend, register for a badge at http://smwlagos.com/attend/. Registered attendees can build their schedule at: http://smwlagos.com/schedule/.
2019 PARTNERS
Stanbic IBTC, Deutsche Welle, TROYKA, Nigeria Communications Commissions, AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited, Virgin Atlantic, The Wheatbaker, GIGM.com, MainOne, Nigeria NLG Limited, Coca Cola, Red Bull, renmoney, The Guardian, HuffPost, Black Enterprise, Doculand, Cregital, eNitiate, Insight Redefini, Legit.ng, African Business, New African, Beat99.9 FM, BellaNaija, MTVBase, Business Insider by Pulse.ng, The Nerve Africa, Business Day, Lost In Lagos, wecyclers, Ken Saro Wiwa Foundation, Pop Up Africa, and Travel Massive Lagos
SMW Lagos week-long programming focuses on ideas, trends, insights, business practices and policy that leverage technology to transform industries and communities across Africa. In 2018, over 150 local and international organizations contributed to the event.
TechNews
inq.Digital Supports Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1.0]
Inq. Digital Nigeria Limited has been announced as a sponsor of Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1.0] maiden edition holding this Thursday in Lagos.
inq. Digital Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of inq. Group is an emerging leading digital and cloud solutions provider that delivers simpler seamless solutions to complex business challenges.
With offices in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Kano, inq. provides reliable and affordable Intelligent Connectivity, SDN/NFV, Cloud and Digital services (including Edge –AI) for Nigerian businesses including those in the payment space.
Participation is FREE, however, pre-registration is required: https://bit.ly/4c4N19H.
Speaking ahead of Payments Forum Nigeria [PAFON 1,0] scheduled to take place at Oriental Hotel, Lekki Road, Lagos on Thursday, March 21, 2024 by 9am under the theme: “Payments: Trust, Security and Privacy in AI Era”, Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, the co-founder of TechCastle Foundation, the organisers, said the goal is to enable information exchange and knowledge sharing on key industry insights issues amongst key stakeholders, with the objective of ensuring a collaborative and proactive approach to push for policies that enable growth, tackling/mitigating fraud and limiting occurrences and losses.
Speakers
The following speakers are lined up for the Forum: Chibuzo Efobi, Director, Payments System Management, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Festus Amede, Chairman, Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial institutions (CCISONFI; Dr. Adewale Peter Obadare, Chief Visionary Officer (CVO), Digital Encode Limited; Adetokunbo Omotosho, Chief Executive Officer, Cybervergent; Roosevelt Elias, Founder, Payble; Ikenna Ndugbu, chief compliance officer, Moniepoint MFB, and Peter Evbota, Sales Director at inq. Digital Nigeria Limited.
Payments Forum Nigeria is organised by TechCastle Foundation and sponsored by: inq. Digital Nigeria Limited, Cybervergent, Moniepoint, Digital Encode Limited, Payble with support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Business
Meet Kingsley Adonu
In the dynamic world of entrepreneurship, there are visionaries who not only navigate the business landscape but redefine it. Meet Kingsley Adonu, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the SMobile Group, a conglomerate that stands as a beacon of excellence and diversity in the global business arena.
Kingsley Adonu is a visionary entrepreneur and the Founder of the SMobile Group, a conglomerate synonymous with excellence and diversity. As the Chief Executive Officer, he has steered the group to remarkable heights, overseeing a spectrum of businesses that span across Telecommunications, Oil and Gas, Real Estate, Hospitality, Water Production, Agriculture, Technology, E-commerce, Energy, Sports, Entertainment, Education, Health, Logistics and Financial Services, with branches extending globally to UK, USA, China, South Africa, and Canada.
Under Kingsley’s astute leadership, SMobile Group has emerged as a major partner for MTN, evident in the impactful presence of the SMobile brand in the telecommunications landscape. His strategic insights and forward-thinking approach have positioned the group as a dynamic player in multiple industries.
Beyond the boardroom, Kingsley Adonu is a dedicated philanthropist, committed to making a positive impact in communities. His philanthropic efforts extend beyond business, reflecting a deep-seated belief in the responsibility of successful individuals to contribute meaningfully to society.
Kingsley’s influence is not confined to national borders; he has actively participated in numerous international telecom conferences, further enriching his understanding of global industry trends and fostering valuable connections with industry leaders worldwide.
With an unwavering commitment to excellence, Kingsley Adonu continues to inspire and lead the SMobile Group towards new horizons, blending business acumen with a passion for positive societal change.
TechNews
Only 26% of Surveyed Organizations Stopped Data Encryption by Cybercriminals – Sophos
Retail organizations attacked by ransomware increasingly unable to halt an attack in progress, Sophos Survey Finds, writes SANDRA ANI
- This Is the Lowest Rate of Disruption in 3 Years
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today shared findings from its sector survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Retail 2023,” which found that only 26% of retail organizations this past year were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before their data was encrypted.
Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today shared findings from its sector survey report, “The State of Ransomware in Retail 2023,” which found that only 26% of retail organizations this past year were able to disrupt a ransomware attack before their data was encrypted.
This is a three-year low for the sector—a decline from 34% in 2021 and 28% in 2022—suggesting the sector is increasingly unable to halt ransomware attacks already in progress.
“Retailers are losing ground in the battle against ransomware. Ransomware criminals have been encrypting increasingly greater percentages of their retail victims in the last three years, as evidenced by the steadily declining rate of retailers stopping cybercriminal attacks in progress. Retailers must up their defensive game by setting up security that detects and responds to intrusions earlier in the attack chain,” said Chester Wisniewski, director, global field CTO, Sophos.
In addition, the report found that, for those retail organizations that paid the ransom, their median recovery costs (not including the ransom payment) were four times the recovery costs of those that used backups to recover their data ($3,000,000 versus $750,000).
“Forty-three percent of retail victims paid the ransom according to our survey respondents, yet the median recovery cost to victims who paid the ransom was four times the cost to those who used backups and other recovery methods. There are no shortcuts in these situations and rebuilding systems is almost always required. It’s better to deprive the criminals of their spoils and build back better,” said Wisniewski.
Additional key findings from the report include:
- In line with a broader, cross-sector trend, the retail sector experienced its highest rate of encryption over the past three years, with 71% of those organizations targeted by ransomware stating that attackers successfully encrypted their data
- The percentage of retail organizations attacked by ransomware declined from 77% last year to 69% this year
- The percentage of retail organizations that recovered in less than a day decreased from 15% to 9% this year, while the percentage of retail organizations that took more than a month to recover increased from 17% to 21%
Sophos recommends the following best practices to help defend against ransomware and other cyberattacks:
- Strengthen defensive shields with:
- Security tools that defend against the most common attack vectors, including endpoint protection with strong anti-ransomware and anti-exploit capabilities
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to thwart the abuse of compromised credentials
- Adaptive technologies that respond automatically to attacks, disrupting adversaries and buying defenders time to respond
- 24/7 threat detection, investigation and response, whether delivered in-house or by a specialized Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider
- Optimize attack preparation, including regularly backing up, practicing recovering data from backups and maintaining an up-to-date incident response plan
- Maintain security hygiene, including timely patching and regularly reviewing security tool configurations
To learn more about the State of Ransomware in Retail 2023, download the full report from Sophos.com.
The State of Ransomware 2023 survey polled 3,000 IT/cybersecurity leaders in organizations with between 100 and 5,000 employees, including 355 from the retail sector, across 14 countries in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific.
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