GRTech
Nigeria: Expanding the frontiers of information technology


From the 9th to the 11th of July 2018, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osibanjo led a high powered delegation of IT Professionals and enthusiasts on a road show to the heart of the cyber world in the United States of America – the Silicon Valley.
The objective of the timely and auspicious event tagged investinnigeria2018 Summit was crystal clear – to attract global investment in IT to Nigeria, a country whose potential in that regard remains undeniable.
The delegation comprised of policy makers, regulators, indigenous innovators and other stakeholders. It was an intense three days of meetings, presentations and networking with global industry players who had converged on the Cyber Valley at the behest of the Nigerian government.
Leading the charge from the regulatory arm of the sector was the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, a seasoned professional and die hard IT enthusiast. This was his forte and he came prepared as usual.
As part of its core mandate to enter into, and foster strategic partnerships with global entities to ensure Nigeria secures a competitive pedestal in IT among the comity of nations, the Agency provided sponsorship for some of the indigenous startups thereby, availing them the rare opportunity of showcasing to the world and indeed, potential investors the immense potential that abounds within our great country Nigeria. And they made Nigeria proud.
One after the other, all eleven indigenous egg heads took to the stage and pitched their solutions before an impressed audience.
Addressing the elite audience of industry giants, Dr Pantami was passionate in his delivery. The globally recognized Professor of Software development and Fellow of the prestigious British Computer Society who has determinedly led NITDA to champion engagements of global investors to explore IT opportunities in Nigeria as well as expose the country’s community of startups at various fora, told a spell bound audience that Nigeria remains a formidable market with high Return on Investment.
“As demonstrated today, there is no dearth of potential in Nigeria. The potential is immense and the possibilities limitless. Investing in the Nigerian IT industry is the next best thing out of Africa and there is a guaranteed infinite Return on Investment as it can only get better owing to the dynamic nature of the sector”. Citing copious examples of the talents in the country, Dr Pantami disclosed that young Nigerians were making their mark in the industry every where in the world as partners and employees in various organisations. “The addiction of the average Nigerian youth to the tools of ICT, is a glaring testimony to the tremendous interest vested in technology. The hunger for knowledge has led to the high rate of IT solutions churned out daily by Nigerian youths.”
The erudite professor seized the moment and appealed to his spell bound audience to partner and collaborate with individuals and entities who have demonstrated their willingness and ability to add value to the industry. Especially at this time when the country’s IT Policies are investor and investment friendly.
Nigeria’s National IT Policy is predicated on the roadmap document developed by the regulatory Agency and supported by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
At the Summit, NITDA acting in accordance with its mandate made contacts with, and established a working foundation with tech giants like Google, LinkedIn and Facebook towards digital job creation for Nigerian youths.
That been said, it is pertinent to note that the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is pushing the boundaries and expanding the frontiers of Information Technology like never before seen in this country.
Enabling policies to drive ease of doing business like the recent Visa on arrival pronouncement, empowering policies like the Executive orders 003 and 005 to further give impetus to NITDA’s regulatory powers, the establishment of various startup hubs around the country to drive indigenous innovation, the deployment of local content in government practices like the TSA to mention but a few, are part of the larger picture gradually taking shape.
This administration has demonstrated in no small measure, its recognition and adoption of IT as the only infinite resource that can guarantee economic stability, security and a pride of place in the global scheme of things. Little wonder then that the Office of the Vice President is personally committed to its development in word and in deed.
For NITDA as the regulator, it is proof that its leadership is working. Since assuming office as the Director General just over a year ago, Dr Pantami’s relentless efforts at instilling professionalism in the industry is paying off! He has successfully drawn the attention of the highest offices in the land to a sector which had hitherto been plagued by corruption and unethical conduct.
He is steadily proving his critics wrong on all fronts. He has successfully reduced corruption in the industry and by extension, the entire country through a series of strategic policies and programmes methodically aligned with the anti-corruption and change mantra of the presidency. Dr Pantami has taken the bull by the horns and there is definitely no going back at this rate.
During the visit to the Facebook Headquaters in Silicon Valley which he led, he needed no introduction. It was a moment of glory on the world stage as his picture was boldly displayed on the giant electronic billboard at the office grounds of the tech giant where he yet again called for the continuous engagement with the sector in Nigeria leveraging on the existing relationship.
Long after this epoch event is gone, Nigeria will continue to benefit from the fruits it has borne. According to Google, the future of the internet is in the hands of the next billion users which will lead to innovation on an unprecedented scale and Nigeria, has been identified as one of the major countries where the next billion will come from. This generation of users are already changing the internet in three prominent ways:
An instinct for universal computing
The prominent use of smartphone for internet access and;
A demand for localized content
NITDA is grateful to the Executive arm of government for its unparalled support and encouragement and it is in order to give accolades to the leadership of both parties.
Written by Uwa Suleiman, NITDA’s Spokesperson
TechNews
Samsung Launches Vision AI TV: A New Era in Home Entertainment, Celebrating 19 Consecutive Years as the Global No. 1 TV Brand


Samsung Electronics has announced the launch of its groundbreaking Samsung Vision AI TV, marking a bold new chapter in the company’s history of innovation and leadership in the television industry.
For 19 consecutive years, Samsung has held the position of the world’s No. 1 TV brand, a testament to its unwavering commitment to quality, design, and user experience. This remarkable journey of excellence has been defined by a series of world first innovations that have consistently set new standards in the industry.
From the debut of the Bordeaux LCD TV in 2006, admired for the world’s first sensuous design, to other breakthroughs like the first edge type LED TV, the first Smart TV with applications, the brilliance of 100% Color Volume QLED technology, and the refined Curved UHD TV, Samsung has never stopped setting new standards for what a TV can achieve.
Now in 2025, the company has taken another bold step forward with Samsung Vision AI which positions Samsung TVs as more than entertainment devices. They enhance content interaction, smart home functionality and synergy across devices, while maintaining strong privacy with the Samsung Knox security.
“Our mission has always been to create technology that feels personal, intuitive, and inspiring,” said Tae Sun Lee, CEO of Samsung Electronics West Africa. “With Vision AI, we’re not just offering a TV, we’re introducing a smarter, more connected way to live, building on almost two decades of global leadership.”
Samsung Vision AI is packed with features designed to make the TV experience smarter and more personal:
• Click to Search – Find information and personalized content recommendations about what you’re watching instantly, with just one click.
• Future-Proof Design – Enjoy 7 years of free OS updates so that your TV keeps evolving, unlocking new AI-powered experiences over time.
• Smart Home Control Tower – Effortlessly connect and control your Galaxy devices, Bespoke appliances, and other IoT products through SmartThings.
• Knox Security – Advanced protection to keep your personal information safe while you stay connected.
• Art & Entertainment – Seamlessly integrates with the Samsung Art TV lineup and offers immersive gaming, making it a hub for both creativity and play.
According to Oge Maduagwu, Head of Marketing & Communications, Samsung Electronics West Africa, “These new TVs are intelligent lifestyle hubs as they leverage Vision AI to deliver personalized, contextual, and seamless experiences that redefine television. Combining TV, AI Art, Live translations and sleek designs to set our TVs miles ahead of others”.
Continuing she said:
“Samsung’s 2025 TV lineup delivers our most advanced viewing experience yet, with innovations across OLED, Neo QLED, QLED, and lifestyle models. This year, we’ve introduced glare-free OLED and expanded anti-glare technology to more Neo QLED models, boosted brightness by up to 30%, and added high refresh rates up to 240Hz for ultra-smooth motion. Our new Vision AI enhances picture, sound, and even integrates smart home features like pet and family care monitoring.
“We’ve launched premium additions such as Neo QLED Mini-LED with wireless One Connect, plus Nigeria’s first 100-inch Neo QLED. From breathtaking picture quality to intelligent home integration, 2025 Samsung TVs are designed to deliver unmatched clarity, style, and connectivity.”
She reiterated Samsung’s commitment to shaping the viewing experience of tomorrow, with innovations designed to bring joy, connection, and inspiration to households worldwide.
“For years, customers have put their trust in Samsung TVs, trusting them to get quality and value for their money, thus, making them the global No.1 TV brand for 19 years consecutively and the brand continues to honor that trust by delivering products that exceed expectations.
“The new Neo QLED 8K, OLED, Neo QLED 4K, QLED & Crystal UHD TVs are now available at all authorized Samsung stores nationwide”, she Maduagwu added.
GRTech
Ransomware in the Crosshairs: Sophos and Halcyon Announce New Intelligence-Sharing and Mutual Anti-Tamper Protection Initiative
…Joint Collaboration Enables Real-Time Intelligence Sharing and Mutual Anti-Tamper Protections to Accelerate Ransomware Detection and Response, reports SANDRA ANI


Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, has announced a strategic threat intelligence sharing partnership with Halcyon, the leading anti-ransomware solution provider.
This collaboration brings together two of the most experienced teams in ransomware defense to accelerate detection, enhance protection, and improve response capabilities for more than 300,000 organizations worldwide.
The collaboration between Sophos and Halcyon will exchange threat intelligence in real time, including indicators of compromise (IOCs), adversary behaviors, and attack patterns, to enhance ransomware prevention and accelerate response time.
Following Halcyon’s recent announcement of a community-focused Ransomware Research Center, this data-sharing initiative will inform defenses across both Sophos’ and Halcyon’s solutions.
It will benefit customers using Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, as well as Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Sophos XDR, Halcyon’s Anti-Ransomware Platform, and other joint capabilities.
As part of the collaboration, Halcyon and Sophos will also implement mutual anti-tamper protections that allow each platform to monitor and safeguard the other’s agents in customer environments.
This helps ensure that organizations using both solutions benefit from added resilience, reducing the risk of ransomware interfering with security defenses and preserving the integrity of their overall protection strategy.
The threat intelligence collaboration is part of Sophos’ broader strategy to expand the reach and speed of its threat response through strategic partnerships.
Sophos X-Ops, the company’s cross-functional threat intelligence unit, will work closely with Halcyon’s research and engineering teams to share and operationalize ransomware-related insights across a wide array of attack surfaces.
“Ransomware tools and tactics are evolving constantly, and the best defense is timely, relevant intelligence that enables defenders to act quickly and with confidence,” said Simon Reed, chief research and scientific officer, Sophos. “By sharing insights with Halcyon, we’re improving signal fidelity and accelerating detection across our systems, which strengthens protection for all the organizations we serve.”
“Halcyon is honored to partner with Sophos. Over the last four years, based on our telemetry, Sophos has time and time again proven to be one of the most effective endpoint security platforms we have encountered, reliably performing and disrupting attackers at a level that simply outperforms the majority of the players in the next-generation antivirus and endpoint detection and response (EDR) space. Their dedication to innovate and roll out industry-leading and unique features continues to put their customers at an everyday advantage over the most sophisticated attacks affecting enterprises today,” said Jon Miller, CEO and co-founder of Halcyon.
Key benefits of the collaboration between Sophos and Halcyon include:
- Real-time ransomware intelligence: Sophos and Halcyon will share timely threat intelligence, including indicators of compromise (IOCs), attacker behaviors, and tools used in active ransomware campaigns. This intelligence supports earlier detection, broader visibility, and more informed responses.
- Strengthened defenses across products and services: Shared intelligence will enhance threat detection models, enrich contextual telemetry, and accelerate protection updates within each company’s solutions, including Sophos Central and Halcyon’s Anti-Ransomware Platform.
- Mutual anti-tamper protections: Each solution actively monitors the other’s agents to prevent tampering or disablement during ransomware attacks, helping ensure that security defenses remain intact and effective throughout an incident.
This collaboration highlights Sophos’ and Halcyon’s continued commitment to cybersecurity innovation, industry cooperation, and the mission to defeat cybercriminals. Together, Sophos and Halcyon are delivering the intelligence needed to stay one step ahead of attackers.
GRTech
Rubrik and Sophos to Deliver Microsoft 365 Cyber Resilience with New Partnership
…New offering will provide streamlined security and data protection capabilities for Sophos MDR and XDR mid-market customers, SANDRA ANI reports


Rubrik, the cybersecurity company, and Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, have announced a strategic partnership to provide Sophos M365 Backup and Recovery Powered by Rubrik.
This marks the first Managed Detection and Response (MDR)-optimized Microsoft 365 backup and recovery solution fully integrated into Sophos Central, Sophos’ security operations platform.
Designed to support IT and cybersecurity teams, the new offering will provide a unified global platform to enhance cyber resilience against ransomware, account compromise, insider threats, and data loss in SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, and Teams.
“We are reshaping what it means to stay operational in a world shaped by constant digital disruption,” said Joe Levy, CEO, Sophos. “This is the future of cyber resilience: an intelligent, adaptive partnership that ensures organizations remain secure, responsive, and uninterrupted. By combining Sophos’ prevention-first approach with Rubrik’s unwavering recovery capabilities, we empower businesses to withstand attacks and maintain continuity, even under pressure.”
Sophos will offer a powerful new add-on solution for its more than 75,000 MDR and XDR customers, enabling fast, secure recovery of critical Microsoft 365 data in the event of accidental deletion or malicious compromise.
This solution integrates Rubrik’s industry-leading SaaS-based protection directly into the trusted Sophos Central platform, giving organizations the flexibility to enhance their existing security operations with robust data recovery capabilities.
The Sophos Central platform integrates over 350 different telemetry sources across endpoint, cloud, network, identity, email and business applications. The platform leverages deep learning, custom LLMs, and frontier models to detect and respond to threats across the entire attack surface, enhancing defense effectiveness.
“The reality of today’s threat landscape demands a holistic approach to cyber resilience,” said Bipul Sinha, CEO, Chairman, and Co-founder of Rubrik. “With AI-enabled attacks and sophisticated breaches on the rise, organizations need more than just prevention; they need the ability to recover rapidly and reliably. Our partnership with Sophos delivers this critical capability directly within a platform security teams already use and trust, raising the bar for Microsoft 365 resilience.”
The Evolving Threat Landscape
According to The State of Ransomware report by Sophos, nearly half of organizations impacted by ransomware chose to pay the ransom to recover their data. Despite this, only 54% of affected companies relied on backups for data restoration, highlighting a continued gap in effective cyber resilience practices.
Recent research highlights the urgent need for robust Microsoft 365 data protection: 60% of Microsoft 365 tenants have experienced account takeovers, a frequent launchpad for lateral movement within an organization, and 81% have encountered email compromise.
When global admin credentials are compromised, attackers can manipulate retention settings and permanently delete critical business data.
Existing tools were not designed for comprehensive, large-scale recovery, which requires speed, granularity, and reliability for rapid restoration.
Sophos MDR and XDR customers will benefit from:
- Secure, immutable backups: Rubrik will isolate Microsoft 365 backups with air-gapped storage, WORM locks, and customer-held encryption keys. Multifactor authentication and data lock prevent tampering, even with compromised credentials.
- Fast, flexible recovery: Customers will be able to restore Microsoft 365 emails, OneDrives, SharePoint sites, Teams channels, and more to original or alternate users, including inactive accounts.
- Automated protection: Rubrik will automatically discover Microsoft 365 users, sites, and mailboxes, applies Entra ID-based policies, and supports delegated admin – all integrated with Sophos Central to reduce manual effort.
- Unified experience: Microsoft 365 protection and security operations will be managed via Sophos Central with no extra tools.
Rubrik and Sophos’ shared commitment to helping organizations operate with confidence in the face of risk, will provide Sophos customers and partners with a powerful solution to recover with speed and precision when threats inevitably break through.
This offering will be available through Sophos’ channel partner network in the coming months.
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