Now Integrates Telemetry from Third-Party Endpoint, Firewall, Cloud, Identity, Email, and Other Security Solutions with Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem for Improved Threat Detection and Response

 

Sophos, a global leader in innovating and delivering cybersecurity as a service, today launched new third-party security technology compatibilities with Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) to better detect and remediate attacks with speed and precision across diverse customer and operating environments.

 

The industry-leading service with more than 12,000 customers now integrates telemetry from third-party endpoint, firewall, cloud, identity, email, and other security technologies as part of the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem.

 

“The complexity of modern operating environments and the velocity of cyberthreats make it increasingly difficult for most organizations to successfully manage detection and response on their own, and the need for always-on security operations has become an imperative,” said Joe Levy, chief technology and product officer at Sophos. “As with a shield, cyber-risk mitigation technology can aid in defense, yet unless you use that protection to react, the system will eventually fail; a determined attacker will eventually defeat technology alone. Our teams of experts can now detect and remediate threats across a broad range of environments, including complex, multi-vendor scenarios, before those threats turn into something more damaging, like ransomware or a wide scale data breach. MDR is often the difference between defense success and failure in real-world situations.”

 

Sophos MDR is now compatible with security telemetry from vendors such as Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Check Point, Rapid7, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Okta, Darktrace, and many others. Telemetry can be automatically consolidated, correlated and prioritized with insights from the Sophos Adaptive Cybersecurity Ecosystem and the Sophos X-Ops threat intelligence unit. Sophos MDR’s expansive set of third-party security integrations is enabled by technology that Sophos acquired through SOC.OS in April 2022.

 

Leveraging bespoke data processing and correlation techniques across this broad set of telemetry, the Sophos MDR operations team is able to quickly understand the who, what, when, and how of an attack, and is capable of responding to threats across customers’ entire ecosystems within minutes. The Sophos MDR operations team can also use third-party vendor telemetry to conduct threat hunts and identify attacker behaviors that evaded detection from deployed toolsets.

“The approach that many cybersecurity technology providers have taken with their Extended Detection and Response, and their resulting MDR offerings, is to focus on integrating only their own proprietary hardware and software products, resulting in a closed and limited ecosystem offering. The challenge of this approach is that attributes of existing IT architectures may not be negotiable, given the realities of commercial contracts, technical debt or IT complexity,” said Frank Dickson, group vice president for IDC’s Security and Trust research practice. “By expanding its MDR offering to include compatibility with third-party cybersecurity products, Sophos is delivering a more technology-agnostic managed service that truly meets customers where they are and the realities they are forced to embrace.”

 

Sophos MDR is customizable with different service tiers and threat response options. Customers can choose whether to have the Sophos MDR operations team execute full-scale incident response, provide collaborative assistance for confirmed threats, or deliver detailed alert notifications for their security operations teams to manage themselves.

 

“Sophos is the leading cybersecurity-as-a-service provider because of its focus on compatibility, accessibility and driving tangible business outcomes,” said Jeremy Weiss, executive technology strategist at CDW. “Unlike many MDR services in the market today, you don’t have to make any compromises with Sophos – you can keep the cybersecurity tools you already have in place, choose what level of support you need, and what outcomes you want to achieve. Sophos is setting a new standard for how MDR should be delivered, and I won’t be surprised when other providers follow in its footsteps.”

Availability

Sophos MDR is available now through Sophos’ global channel of reseller partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).

 

Nigeria’s foremost financial technology (Fintech) firm, FINTRAK recently graduated trainees from their academy. This is in line with the organization’s policy of building capacity in the information technology (IT) ecosystem with emphasis on fintech solution. The organization designed this program as a way of giving back to the society and also deepening the widening capacity gap now that the country is having skill flight to other nations.

Having seen numerous talents and potential in these kids, FINTRAK Software has decided to build and train army of youths that will power the country’s IT ecosystem in future.

Speaking about the event, the founder of FINTRAK and Group Managing Director, Bimbo Abioye said “FinTrak Academy is designed to train highly qualified and motivated young graduates to become tech guru in the field of Software Development, Software Implementation, Software Support and Software Quality Assurance. Its main goal is to give successful candidates the opportunity to improve their analytical and technical skills in an international environment.”

“The Fintrak Academy Programme is open on an on-going basis. Young graduates are enrolled at a fully accredited degree programme (Bachelor, HND, M.eng, Master, ) during the entire duration of their internship can apply online. Selected interns are on-boarded for full employment upon graduation”, he added.

On a final note, the Fintrak boss opined that “The Fintrak Academy provides young graduates the skills and foundational experience they need to begin building a career in their chosen field. Our development programs offer a variety of professional experiences within a structure that provides opportunities to learn, grow, and ultimately succeed.”

Apart from these trainings, Fintrak absorbed many of these graduands into their organisation . These graduands will man their various locations across the world. FinTrak Software is an indigenous  global company based in Nigeria,over the years have deployed solutions in many parts of Africa . Armed with and army of software engineers and professionals with competencies across banking, finance, audit, consulting and software development, FinTrak Software can be described to be on a  mission to support organizations and states with technologies and intellectual strength required to enable them surpass their stakeholders’ expectations.

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

 Meta today unveiled an exclusive XR exhibition featuring the six finalists from the ‘Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds’ programme, focused on supporting the next generation of Extended Reality (XR) creators in Africa. Developed in partnership with Africa No Filter, Electric South and Imisi 3D this forms part of Meta’s XR Programs and Research investment into XR talents across Africa.

 

With a focus on owning and shifting the African narrative, whilst telling compelling African stories that are contemporary and immersive, the finalists have developed a range of immersive digital experiences rooted in African culture across various media formats including 360 video, AR/VR and Mixed Reality.

 

The experiences showcased include:

 

  • Malik Afegbua, Nigeria: Malik’s ‘Moving Between’ is a 360 documentary that presents a virtual heritage experience of the Kofar-Mata dye pit, a cultural and historical site in Kano, Nigeria, by showcasing it in a three-dimensional virtual reality model. In a 5-minutes immersive experience, a deaf dancer takes the audience on a tour through the historic Kofar-Mata dye pits, using sign language instructions anddance.

 

  • Xabiso Vili, South Africa: A writer, performer and new media artist, Xabiso’s ‘Black Boi meets Boogeyman’ is a multi-ending, ‘choose your adventure’ style 360° visual album. A speculative fiction piece where Black Boi, our protagonist, goes on a hero’s journey through a South Africa that needs reminding of its light to confront the Boogeyman. This 360 visual album hopes to become an access point in which artists and communities can imagine using XR artistically and intentionally for communalhealing.

 

  • Dylan Valley, South Africa: Dylan’s Cissie Gool House is a 360 documentary about a precarious housing occupation in a new Cape Town hospital. This 360 documentary will immerse the viewer in the occupation as if they were partaking in reclaiming the building. The film will showcase the voices of the activists and occupiers who call Cissie Gool House home and speak to those who would rather have them gone. The medium of VR will allow for greater empathy for these characters (often demonised in the press). It will impart a deeper understanding of what it means to occupy, especially when it is the only viable option youhave.

 

  • Nirma Madhoo, Mauritius: A fashion filmmaker, XR creator and Ph.D. candidate. Nirma’s ‘XWE,’ 360 fashion film using volumetric capture and photogrammetry is a tribute to the original stargazers of SouthernAfrica. It will celebrate the constellations of dispersed diasporic African identities through a Noirwave fashion performance set in a VR landscape of astrophysics.

 

  • Pierre-Christophe Gam, Cameroon: Pierre is a multimedia artist who worked on ‘TOGUNA’, a hybrid (both live and online) Art installation, fusing AR/VR, film, photography, mixed-media sculpture, future-thinking and storytelling, designed to facilitate a forum for an innovative conversation on the future of the African continent. This provides a WebVR experience usingAR.

 

  • Michelle Angawa, Kenya: A film editor and XR creator, Michelle’s ‘1000 Shillings in Nairobi,’ a 360 fiction film is a short tragicomedy depicting a day in a Nairobian Boda rider’s life. He drifts through a seriesof absurd encounters in an attempt to pay a motorbike loan of KSH 1000 ($10).

Sherry Dzinoreva, Meta’s Public Policy Programs Director, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey, said: “As the next phase of this programme, we’re delighted to be unveiling this specially curated exhibition featuring the work of six talented creators from across the continent, all of whom have created beautiful, thought-provoking African stories and experiences using immersive technology. We know that Africa holds immense talent, which we see reflected in the experiences curated, and as we set our sights on the metaverse, we believe creators, especially those on the continent, will play a key role in unlocking its potential.”

 

Commenting on the ‘Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds’ programme, Moky Makura, Executive Director, Africa No Filter added “We know the power stories have when it comes to influencing and shaping perceptions about Africa. That power is amplified when those stories are immersive and that is what today’s technologies offer storytellers. It’s exciting to be part of an initiative that has allowed us to tap into the future of storytelling in Africa.”

 

 

 

 

Fintrak Software Limited, an indigenous financial technology firm based in Lagos with an international footprint in various African country recently held banking and financial industry of Rwanda in awe with the reintroduction of their solution known as ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION. A software application that is designed for businesses to boost productivity and reduce human error in all the areas of their enterprise. The Fintech also presented their credit management solution known as CREDIT MANAGEMENT SOLUTION, the event was held at the KIGALI MARRIOT HOTEL, in the Rwandan capital City.

Speaking to the Rwanda financial ecosystem, the company described the Credit management solution as a software that was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to determine that they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 solution is Web based and can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank without separate installations on branch-by-branch basis.

“Banks are increasingly facing credit risk (or counter-party risk) in various financial instruments other than loans, including acceptances, inter-bank transactions, trade financing, foreign exchange transactions, financial futures, swaps, bonds, equities, options, and in the extension of commitments and guarantees, and the settlement of transactions”, they added.

Bimbo Abioye, the Group Managing Director of Fintrak used the opportunity to address Rwandan stakeholders on various features of their solutions such as Portal Driven Loan Origination, Online Loan Appraisal and documentation, Credit rating, mobile Loan approval and other areas of loan management such as SME Digital lending and disbursement.

On enterprise solution they focused on key features such as cost allocation, balanced scorecard, product profitability reports and flexible transfer pricing. All these features are embedded in the solution to make business seamless.

FinTrak Software is a global Financial Technology organization providing innovative technology and business solutions to financial institutions in the financial services sector and enterprises across continents. FinTrak Software is a global company, with business offices in Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia. Armed with and army of software engineers and professionals with competencies across banking, finance, audit, consulting and software development, FinTrak Software is on a mission to support organizations and states with technologies and intellectual strength required to enable them surpass their stakeholders’ expectations.

 

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

 

 

Africa’s burgeoning digital identity startup Verified.Africa has launched in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya with its verification services now available to businesses and individuals in these countries.

 

With initial operations in Nigeria since 2021, Verified.africa is making good on its roadmap to achieve digital inclusion for all on the continent.

 

Since its inception, Verified Africa has recorded over 300 thousand digital identity verifications from a thousand plus businesses – enabling startups, banks and SMEs to confirm the true identity of people safely.

 

As Frank Atube pointed out in the company’s blog release, “Ghana, South Africa and Kenya represent key markets for Verified’s roadmap into continental dominance and with this launch, we’re thrilled to open our doors to businesses and individuals in three more countries – bringing the best of digital verification to your shores.”

 

The digital identity industry has never been more important to online security and customer trust. KYC (Know your customer) and AML (anti-money laundering) protocols have become stricter with governments looking to secure economic growth and eliminate loss from fraudulent transactions.

 

Verified.africa through the use of machine learning & facial recognition technologies, facilitates this process for both businesses and individuals by helping them eliminate fraud, onboard online customers faster, and meet KYC compliance in minutes.

 

With this expansion, businesses in Ghana, South Africa and Kenya can now enjoy these benefits as they easily verify IDs in real-time anywhere in Africa using any of verified.africa’s services.

From National IDs to Business Certificates to Tax IDs, Verified.africa connects to multiple databases of identity records across the continent to enable you to confirm that people are exactly who they say they are.

 

The company plans to expand its footprint to other African countries over the next 18 months, becoming the most widely used verification platform on the continent.

 

To get started with Verified.africa, you can sign up on their portal at verified.africa/signup.

 

About Verified.africa

 

Verified.Africa is a product of Seamfix Ltd, a technology partner for thousands of global organizations on their journey of Digital Transformation for business growth and customer satisfaction.

 

Through their Verification Platform, businesses in Africa can easily verify the identity of customers, partners, and employees – helping them grow their customer base faster, prevent fraud and operate with better turnover.

 

 

In line with clients’ demands and technology trends, CELLCORE Ltd, an IT  firm  in Ibadan unveils artificial intelligence (AI) solution  for lottery companies in Nigeria.  Celebrating their 10 years in the Nigerian IT industry, the LOTTOBOT which is first of its kind is a ChatBot technology that automates  the playing of lotto games via Facebook Messenger.

The introduction of LOTTOBOT to the Nigerian gaming industry  is timely and presents a wealth of opportunities for businesses looking to up skill their workforce and transform the user experience.

In his chat with the media, Mike Nwaogu, the Chief Executive Officer of CELLCORE Ltd said “ we have made gaming simpler and easy. We realized that Nigerians are very much into social media and we figured out that it would be nice to integrate AI technology for their gaming experience instead of logging out and visiting the gaming portal”.

He added that “ We are at the forefront of deploying artificial intelligence into the gaming industry not only in Nigeria but Africa. We have been in this industry for almost a decade and we are using this solution to celebrate a landmark” .

LOTTOBOT Prime  allows gamers  to play lotto games by merely chatting with a bot,  thereby presenting a convenient, relaxed process and experience of playing lotto without having to leave your zone. With this chat bot, anyone can play lotto games directly via their Facebook Messenger, get direct updates of results and get prize winnings credited directly to their Messenger LOTTOBOT account.

Industry stakeholders have lauded the product, noting that with the introduction of LOTTOBOT into the Nigerian gaming industry, it has demonstrated that  the gaming industry is maturing. Amongst the industry stakeholders that attested to the solution is De Donkings Lotteries Limited.

Key features of LOTTOBOT include the ability for  gamers to subscribe to updates, players  can subscribe to receive automated updates of results via  their Messenger inbox. Known as Cash Out, winners get notified immediately by the Bot when they win. Their  LOTTOBOT account is credited with the prize immediately. The players, can also check the balance of their winnings on the Bot or cash out their winnings through a simple process; either by having the cash withdrawn at an ATM or transferred to  their bank account.

“The intelligent LOTTOBOT is trained to guide players to play and submit available lotto games of partner lotto companies hosted on the platform, including soccer betting and soccer pools from select countries and leagues from around the world” remarked  Gideon Nwaogu, product developer, CELLCORE Limited .

LOTTOBOT is  also trained to attend to some questions and problems players may have while interfacing with it. The application is built to accept the Universal token PINs which can be used to play lotto games on the platform of select lotto game service providers across Nigeria. The PIN can be purchased online or from agents on the street.

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

 

 

 

Covid 19 pandemic last year made a lot of disruptions in the global financial space, Nigeria included. The technique companies report their operations, financial condition, and cash flows during this crisis and after will be a little bit altered or rejigged. Having this in mind, Fintrak Software Limited, an indigenous financial technology (fintech) company is bringing to the knowledge of financial players like banks, insurance, mortgage institutions and other key players in the ecosystem their product known as FINSTAT. An innovative solution designed to ease the burden of financial reporting for the key players in the industry.

The use of technology in the automation of financial reporting eases consolidation and preparation of full set of annual financial statements according to the international financial reporting standards (IFRS). FINSTAT reporting solution is designed to be bespoke and fluid, this means that it is built to the specification of clients that desire a robust financial reporting tool. The solution has been described to meet and exceeds standard IFRS system requirements, as it is in compliance with the recent IFRS 9 s standard

The FinTrak Enterprise Performance Management consolidates finance processes using technology to resolve challenges faced by businesses in relation to Data integrity, delayed reporting, Relationship management, Back Office operations and Support, Cost allocation, External domiciled accounts and Transfer pricing. This solution has made it possible for organizations such as banks, insurance and mortgage houses to successfully reduce risks, increase efficiency, decrease cost of operations and free resources for more value-adding activities by business units. The solution presents the report such as Management Performance Reporting Solution, which is an analytical tool created for organizations’ supervisory, examination, and management purposes in a summarizing format making it easier to understand.

Speaking on the importance of the solution, The Group Managing Director, Bimbo Abioye said “FinTrak Enterprise Performance Management solution is a valuable tool for the business to empower Management with the right information to make critical business decision and inherently deliver business value (Revenue and profitability, customer retention and acquisition, operational efficiency), resource productivity, and IT effectiveness. Profitability based measurement can serve as a more robust and inclusive means to measure the performance by gauging the extent of operational efficiency as well as capturing the nuances of an organization’s diversifying earnings through non-interest income activities and management of their costs. Profitability-oriented performance management is necessary, both to know what a business can do to affect profits and to benchmark the effect of any such moves.”

He added that; The solution monitors the performance of the whole Organization as well as Individuals, Teams, Branches, Business units, and further compares actual with budgets, to evaluate productivity and profitability based on key standard performance metrics. Our solution communicates with your core business application, spools and analyzes all the required data, so you can have a holistic presentation of your business performance in one Executive dashboard. You are empowered with the ability to render full MPR reports on daily basis as the month progresses. The system presents a Multi-dimensional view of performance across Teams, Branch, Products and Individual’s income and Balance sheet statements. and also, all reports respond to changes in reporting lines, both current and past performance.

Having deployed in many countries of Africa such as Gambia, Ghana, Congo etc, the Fintech giant incorporated English and French in the solution making is easily untestable to French and English-speaking countries.  Loaded with features such as flexibility, the solution can handle complex transfer pricing based on your organization’s policy. The solution can also be customized to suit your unique business needs and sector. For executive on the go, the software has mobile versions that can be easily deployed in mobile devices. Other features such as Single and Multiple rate pool pricing, Risk based multiple pool pricing, Penal charges based on policy violations, Ability to handle relationship management tree, Cost breakdown showing details and sources of costs at all levels. With these features, the software has the ability to reduce significantly or remove human errors associated with reporting and at a reduced cost for the organizations

“Our software has the ability to empower users to control cost elements without sacrificing revenue. The ability to see how cost elements like depreciation, OPEX, CAPEX, Human Resource impact and can improve revenue potentials. Key users are able to understand what drives cost and value within their business segment. FinTrak Software will set up bespoke reports peculiar to the business to track profitability and performance of their Business Units and Segments. The system can extract codes from transaction description to allocate the expenses, drill down details available on all reporting lines both income and balance sheet items on click and get basis”, Ladi Ipaye, Executive Director, Business Development and Marketing Strategy concluded.

 

ANTHONY EMEKA NWOSU

The solution monitors the performance of the whole Organization as well as Individuals, Teams, Branches, Business units, and further compares actual with budgets, to evaluate productivity and profitability based on key standard performance metrics. Our solution communicates with your core business application, spools and analyzes all the required data, so you can have a holistic presentation of your business performance in one Executive dashboard. You are empowered with the ability to render full MPR reports on daily basis as the month progresses. The system presents a Multi-dimensional view of performance across Teams, Branch, Products and Individual’s income and Balance sheet statements. and also, all reports respond to changes in reporting lines, both current and past performance.

 

XClub Nigeria has promoted and Appointed Iddy Brown to the position of Country Team Manager for Nigeria, effective from 26th April, 2022.

Iddy, who joined the company in April 2021, held the position of Business Development Manager (KOL Management), before his announcement as the new Country Team Manager for XClub App in Nigeria.

In his previous role, he led the onboarding and Management of Micro and Mid-tier Tech Influencers and Content Creators who majors on Creating Content reviews around Smartphones and tech innovations on the App.

He also spearheaded XTech Talk Show, an in-app tech show on XClub where the XClub tech influencers converge to dissect the latest innovations in the smartphone/tech industry, and other activities that have contributed immensely in retention of daily and monthly active users on the App.

Iddy’s Global Line Manager, Carolyn Du, speaking on Iddy’s new role said, ”Iddy is Accountable and passionate. He has been an invaluable asset to the team. I’m excited to have him playing a more important role in the team and making bigger achievements together with every member of the team and with XClub itself.”

Iddy, speaking on his new appointment said, ‘‘I am super excited about my promotion and new Leadership position. My goal is to intensify my effort along with my team members to build XClub App to become one of the leading tech Social Media Community Apps in Nigeria and by extension, Africa.

‘‘It’s an exciting time and I look forward to the journey ahead of me with strong passion and enthusiasm”. He said.

In his new position, Iddy will be working closely with his Line Manager, Carolyn Du and the entire Nigerian team and global colleagues.

XClub App is a Social Media Community App for young people with the same interest to share Content, share daily stories and connect with friends and likeminds.

With over 100 million downloads on Google Playstore, you can stay updated with trends, news, follow hot topics in Tech, Music and Lifestyle Content on XClub App.

The App is powered by Infinix, the giant smartphone company founded by Transsion Holdings.

You can download XClub here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.trassion.infinix.xclub&hl=en&gl=US

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For faster, more scalable ERP solutions, CIOs are turning to the cloud in greater numbers to help streamline performance across key areas of operations. Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at SoftwareONE, says the industry can expect another big shift to the cloud on the back of SAP customers moving their existing ECC to the cloud and then converting to S/4HANA. Aside from the SAP ECC support deadline in 2027, Moodley says it’s an exciting moment for the industry as businesses are taking full advantage of the time and money saving benefits of S/4HANA.

“Moving from an on-premise system, often with significant custom coding, to a cloud environment can be daunting which is why choosing the right cloud partner for the journey is vitally important. There are so many advantages to running an organisation’s ERP system in the cloud. Businesses can no longer adopt a wait-and-see approach as the time to start your ERP migration to cloud is now,” she says.

Moodley notes the most compelling benefits of moving ERP to the cloud:

Costs:  Your business can shift from a CAPEX to an OPEX model, scaling your infrastructure up or down based on peaks and troughs in demand, so you only pay for what you use, when you use it.

Agility and efficiency: SAP in the cloud will provide you with scalability and access to the latest technologies to help you capitalise on emerging opportunities as they happen. On-premises infrastructure does not benefit from the level of automation and economies of scale available in the public cloud, adding more manual tasks to your workday and building up complexity you must deal with to keep your business running.

Resilience: Hyperscalers provide flexible and cost-effective options to ensure high availability with stringent SLAs and fail-safe disaster recovery so that your business can keep running, no matter what happens.

Innovation: The cloud also makes it easier to adopt emerging cloud trends, like ‘composable architecture’, which involves the breakdown of monolithic architecture into a modular approach. For example, you could have SAP at the centre of your architecture supported by best-of-breed technologies as building blocks. This drives ability to respond to changing environments faster.

Sustainability: Cloud computing is a more sustainable approach than reinvesting in new physical hardware unless you’re able to invest the same levels of environmentally friendly power and cooling systems that are supplied by the big hyperscale cloud providers.



The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has emphasised that telecommunications consumers in Nigeria have a major role to play in complementing efforts being put in place to ensure effective protection of telecommunications infrastructure. This is important to sustain and improve on the quality of service delivery by the service providers.

The Commission made this request and assertion recently at a sensitization programme it organized at Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State.

According to the Commission, aside from the role of the law enforcement agencies in protecting telecom infrastructure, the consumers, who are the subscribers and ultimate users of telecom services, have an obligation to do everything to protect telecoms infrastructure in their environment. These include the base transceiver stations (BTS), the underground fibre optic cable, as well as associated infrastructure.

Addressing audience at the programme, the Director, Zonal Operations, NCC, Amina Shehu, decried the problem of vandalism caused to telecom infrastructure which often result in poor quality of service delivery to the end users.

“One of the major challenges to quality of service that operator provide to you, is vandalism of telecom infrastructure, such as Base Transceiver Stations (BTS). Others are theft, hostility from some host communities, which have continued to pose a major setback to the industry. Therefore, it is imperative for the public to regard telecom facilities as collectively-owned infrastructure that are crucial and essential for the provision of efficient and acceptable telecom services. The more reason these facilities need to be adequately protected,” she urged.

While imploring the indigenes of Tarka Local Government Area of Benue State to ensure that they protect telecom facilities in their community, Shehu, who was represented at the event by an Assistant Director, Zonal Operations, NCC, Abubakar Usman, further enjoined the consumers to always alert law enforcement agencies close to them once they suspect any act of vandalism, theft or other suspicious activities directed at telecom infrastructure because such nefarious activities have implications for quality of service delivery in the communities.

Shehu underscored the centrality of telecommunications sector to the economy and she also informed the audience that in the last 15 years, telecom has been a major contributor to the nation’s economic growth and development. The Director Zonal Operations said the Commission will continue to collaborate with relevant agencies and keep sensitising the consumers on their role in ensuring the security of telecom infrastructure.

One issue Shehu discussed in her speech was the misinformation about Electromagnetic Frequency (EMF) radiation emanating from telecommunications infrastructure which she asserted was not harmful according to studies conducted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Commission for Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Shehu stated that the overall objective of the event is to sensitize members of the public on the need to protect telecommunication infrastructure, and more importantly, to correct the misconception people have on the effect of radio magnetic waves on human health. “So, the Commission is saying again to you that there is no scientific evidence yet that shows that radiation from telecom masts constitute health hazards to human and we want you to help spread this information to those that are not here,” she said.

During the event, participants were also enlightened on the illegality of pre-registered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, the imperatives of proper SIM registration, the importance of National Identification Number,NIN-SIM linkage exercise. The consumers were also informed about facilities provided by the Commission which they can use to improve their telecom experience and quality of life in general. These include the NCC Toll-free Number (622); the 112 National Emergency Number; and the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 short code for managing cases of unsolicited text messages, amongst others.

Meanwhile, the Paramount Ruler of Wannune, Chief Gandeorun Orokaa, who attended the event, thanked the Commission on behalf of the participants for bringing the sensitization programme to the Community to educate the consumers on sensitive consumer-related issues as well as correcting wrong notions and clarifying misconceptions. He also called on the indigenes to support NCC in protecting telecoms infrastructure so as to ensure that quality of service improves in the areas.

The event ended with an audience session, where questions and answers were asked, and observations and recommendations were also made on many aspects of telecom services. In attendance at the event were Local Government workers, Village Heads, Community leaders, Students, Women leaders, Staff of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).