The training, held at the Staff Clinic Hall, Alausa, Ikeja, was themed “Cybersecurity in 2026: Defending Against Modern Threats in a Digital Workplace.”

It brought together personnel from multiple MDAs to improve their understanding of emerging cyber risks and modern security best practices.

The programme focused on key cybersecurity threats expected to shape the digital landscape in 2026. These included artificial intelligence-driven attacks, deepfake-enabled fraud, advanced phishing schemes, ransomware, identity theft, cloud security risks, and supply chain compromises.

Participants were taken through interactive lectures, scenario-based discussions, case studies, and practical sessions aimed at improving their ability to identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats in the workplace.

Speaking during one of the sessions, Mr Olabanji Soledayo, Strategic Partnership manager and Cybersecurity Awareness evangelist at ESET Nigeria highlighted the growing importance of human awareness in combating sophisticated cyberattacks and safeguarding digital work environments.

He noted that individuals within organisations are a critical line of defence as attackers rely more on social engineering and identity-based tactics.

He also commended the Lagos State Government for its continued collaboration with ESET in strengthening cybersecurity capacity across its institutions.

Technical sessions at the training covered areas including email security, endpoint protection, ransomware defence, threat detection, and modern cybersecurity practices relevant to government institutions.

Speaking at the event, Mr Kadri Shamusideen, deputy director, Ministry of Science and Technology emphasized the importance of cybersecurity awareness as government services continue to undergo digital transformation.

He added that as government operations become increasingly digitised, cybersecurity awareness has become a critical component of public service delivery.

While technology provides the necessary security controls, our employees remain the first line of defence against cyber threats. Continuous education and awareness are therefore essential in ensuring that staff can identify emerging threats and respond appropriately.

Mr Kadri described the training as timely and relevant, noting that cyber threats continue to evolve in complexity and sophistication, commending the impressive turnout of participants and the support received from various MDAs across Lagos State.

According to him, strategic collaboration between government institutions and cybersecurity industry leaders remains critical to strengthening national cyber resilience.

ESET Nigeria noted that the programme forms part of its broader commitment to helping organisations across Nigeria improve cyber resilience through awareness, education, and advanced cybersecurity solutions.

The company noted that as cybercriminals increasingly adopt artificial intelligence, social engineering techniques, and identity-based attacks, employee awareness remains one of the most effective defences against modern cyber threats.

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Large corporations, public entities, individuals, SMMEs – virtually anyone can be the target of skilled and professional hackers and cybercriminals, which is why building a strong culture of cyber awareness should be top of mind for SA business leaders,  says Ryan Mer, CEO at eftsure Africa,  a Know Your Payee (KYP) platform provider. 

As more companies recognise the importance of taking measures to protect themselves and their customers by installing sophisticated malware detection systems, and utilising the services of cyber security experts, they may not be assisting their internal stakeholders who are the custodians of much of their data, otherwise known as employees, to safeguard themselves against attack.

Companies frequently organise wellness days for physical and mental health awareness, or team building and feel-good events, but few, if any, take steps to teach safe and healthy digital practices.

Setting an example from the top of the company down is the best place to start instilling good ‘digital hygiene’ at every level of a company’s structure.

With the advent of remote working, and load shedding that has forced many people to seek connectivity in coffee shops, internet cafes and on other public networks, our cell phones, laptops, and tablets are even more exposed.

The first step in leading from the top is being a pioneer of cyber security measures and consistently communicating these to staff through customised education and training. 

It’s equally important to appreciate that there’s a technical component to cyber awareness that can present a learning curve for some staff members.

This makes having robust, automated systems that serve as an extra check and balance critical for businesses today, especially those in the SME sector, who will have a much harder time recovering from the financial consequences following a security breach or act of fraud.

Training in identifying suspect emails and dodgy attachments is also useful for staff, who may easily be convinced to proceed with actioning a payment request from the CFO or open a proof of payment document from an unknown vendor. Most of us know that revealing a PIN number or One Time PIN is a complete no-no.

But it bears repeating that there isn’t a reputable company anywhere that will call and ask you to disclose this information, so helping employees to understand the consequences of gullibility can also go a long way in preventing a cyber-disaster. Cyber threats are often thought of alongside images of a lone hacker in a hoodie, but because cyber criminals are financially motivated, they run their operations like a business and can be very persuasive when targeting victims.

Payment fraud is amongst the most common weaknesses in companies and occurs when invoice payments and salary runs are being processed. A platform like eftsure can mitigate the risks of such fraud, by automatically verifying and re-checking the integrity of the payment details of every company payment prior to payment release.

Real-time prevention is the first line in a company’s defence against fraud and can avert loss of funds, lengthy system shutdowns, forensic investigations and other costly remediation measures after a security breach has been detected.

Most internal IT departments can teach your staff preventative measures to avoid cyberattacks, but whether you use in-house resources or outsource to experts in the cyber security field, it is important that your company first and foremost takes steps to protect itself.

By demonstrating that you take everyone’s cyber safety seriously – both inside and outside the organisation – you will be showing responsible leadership and awareness that modern-day threats pose to the stability of your enterprise.

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