Cyber threat actors have recently exposed data purportedly from both private and public institutions in Nigeria, underscoring the growing need for stronger cybersecurity frameworks, proactive threat monitoring, and coordinated incident response measures.

But Digital Encode’s advisory highlights a troubling pattern: most recent cyber incidents are not driven by sophisticated zero-day exploits, but by preventable weaknesses in basic security configurations, credential management, and operational controls.

According to the advisory signed by Professor Obadare Adewale Peter, Chief Visionary Officer of Digital Encode Limited, attackers are increasingly exploiting misconfigured systems and publicly exposed assets, such as unsecured databases, open cloud storage buckets, leaked API keys, and critical servers exposed to the internet, many of which are easily discoverable through open repositories, cloud indexing tools, and even dark web marketplaces.

The advisory outlines critical areas of concern, including publicly accessible cloud storage exposing sensitive customer and operational data; hardcoded secrets in web and mobile applications, including API keys and tokens; leaked credentials in repositories and deployment artifacts; weak internal access controls and over-reliance on single authentication layers; exposure of administrative endpoints, API documentation, and development environments in production; uncontrolled use of Third-Party Hosting platforms such as Vercel, Netlify, and Render; poor token lifecycle management and weak authentication, inadequate vendor risk management and monitoring controls

Digital Encode noted that these vulnerabilities are widespread across organizations, particularly in financial institutions, payment service providers, Fintech companies and public sector platforms, where similar exposure patterns continue to recur.

Not a Technology Problem, But an Execution Gap

“Organizations affected in recent breaches were not compromised due to highly advanced attacks, but due to lapses in enforcing existing security controls, like, ensuring that no cloud resources linked to organizations whether AWS S3, Azure Blob, Google Cloud Storage, or Firebase allow anonymous access, Verify that no cloud credentials or API tokens are exposed in public or private repositories, container registries or deployed applications, and all external and internal APIs must enforce authentication and authorization controls at all times” Prof. Obadare stated.

The advisory stresses that most of these risks can be mitigated with readily available tools and best practices, underscoring a critical gap between security policy and implementation.

Urgent Actions Recommended

Digital Encode has called on organizations to act immediately by conducting a comprehensive audit of all internet-facing assets, including third-party systems; revoking and rotating all exposed or potentially compromised credentials including passwords, API keys, and access tokens; reviewing historical logs to assess the extent of any prior exploitation; engaging vendors to address third-party security exposures; fixing identified misconfigurations and validating remediation efforts; strengthening monitoring, logging, and threat detection systems; and documenting remediation steps and residual risks for governance and compliance.

The firm also emphasized the need for improved visibility into shadow IT and unauthorized deployments tied to employees’ accounts, which increasingly serve as entry points for attackers.

Call for Proactive Security Posture

Digital Encode reiterated its commitment to supporting organizations through enterprise-wide security assessments and independent validation of implemented controls.

“We strongly advise that this advisory be actioned without delay,” Prof Obadare warned, adding that proactive security hygiene, not reactive response, will determine resilience in Nigeria’s evolving threat landscape.

Digital Encode Limited is a trusted cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in information security, digital trust, and GRC services. The company supports organizations across sectors in strengthening their security posture and achieving regulatory compliance.

According to a new report by Juniper Research, over-the-top (OTT) business messaging traffic, led by platforms like WhatsApp, is projected to skyrocket from 390 billion messages in 2025 to more than 560 billion by 2027, marking a staggering 45% growth in just two years.

At the heart of this surge lies WhatsApp’s game-changing pricing model. The Meta-owned platform has slashed authentication rates, the kind used for one-time passwords (OTPs) and verification messages, by 50–90% compared to traditional A2P (Application-to-Person) SMS.

The move is no coincidence; it’s a calculated step to win over enterprises that have long depended on network operators for secure user communication.

“By first securing authentication traffic, WhatsApp is laying the groundwork to move into higher-value business messaging,” explained Molly Gatford, Senior Research Analyst at Juniper Research.

“Once enterprises are onboarded for authentication, WhatsApp must upsell to marketing use cases, where termination fees are far higher and the real revenue opportunity lies.”

Why it Matters to your Business

For years, mobile network operators dominated the enterprise messaging market through A2P SMS, powering everything from OTPs to promotional campaigns. But the rise of OTT players like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber has changed the rules, offering richer engagement, encryption, and global reach at a fraction of the cost.

In Nigeria and across Africa, where businesses are doubling down on digital transformation and financial inclusion, WhatsApp’s expanding footprint is poised to influence how banks, fintechs, eCommerce brands, and even government agencies communicate.

Imagine receiving your transaction alerts, delivery notifications, and customer support all through one WhatsApp chat, secure, fast, and cost-effective. That’s the future Meta is betting on.

The Operators’ Dilemma

Juniper’s report warns that mobile operators must rethink their approach — and fast. To remain competitive, operators will need to adopt “use case-based” pricing models for both SMS and RCS (Rich Communication Services), leveraging AI-powered analytics to classify and price messages more intelligently.

This strategy could help them highlight the added value of RCS, Google’s SMS evolution, which supports multimedia, interactivity, and verified business profiles, while maintaining telco control.

“By adopting a use case-based pricing strategy that is consistent across SMS and RCS, operators will enable enterprises to better assess RCS’s added value,” Gatford noted. “This helps operators retain business messaging traffic across these channels and avoid losing market share to OTT platforms.”

Looking Ahead: Opportunities and Risks

The A2P & Business Messaging Market 2025–2030 report, which includes forecasts across 61 countries and 146,000 datapoints, suggests that the coming years will see a tug-of-war between OTT disruptors and traditional network providers.

While WhatsApp may currently hold the pricing advantage, operators still have one critical edge, trust and infrastructure. Enterprises handling sensitive data, such as banks and public institutions, continue to rely on carrier-grade security and compliance frameworks that OTT players are still catching up to.

Still, the momentum is unmistakable.

As enterprises chase more personalized, real-time engagement with customers, the boundaries between messaging platforms and telecom networks are blurring.

The winners of this new era will be those who adapt fastest, whether it’s through collaboration, pricing innovation, or leveraging data-driven insights.

Insight:

With WhatsApp Business API already powering millions of customer interactions across Africa, Nigeria’s telecoms and fintech players face a strategic choice, compete, collaborate, or risk being sidelined in the next wave of digital customer engagement.

Effective fintech product activation involves creating a robust digital payment ecosystem that not only addresses the unique challenges of diverse markets but also empowers individuals and businesses to participate fully in the global economy.

As a seasoned professional in the fintech and payments industry, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative potential of well-activated fintech products.

These solutions have not only expanded financial inclusion but have also revolutionised cross-border transactions, enabling businesses to operate seamlessly across borders and empowering individuals to access essential financial services.

Reflecting on our experience launching Proximity Pay in Nigeria’s retail sector during the 2020-2021 period, my team and I successfully navigated the complex payment landscape by prioritising a customer-centric approach.

Through innovative solutions and tailored offerings, we overcame initial scepticism and fostered a widespread adoption of digital payments, demonstrating the profound impact of putting the user at the heart of fintech innovations.

This is just one example of how fintech can reshape economies, empower communities, and drive progress.

As we look to the future, the role of fintech will continue to evolve, serving as a catalyst for positive transformation across industries.

*Olaniyi Ibraheem | FinTech, Digitalization & Innovation Specialist | BDM Africa | Payment Orchestration

Visa (NYSE: V) today announced the launch of the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program to help enable Africa’s expanding start-up community through expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding. 

The initiative was introduced by Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Visa Executive Chairman, at Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, Morocco.

The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator will enable up to 40 start-ups each year to accelerate and grow through a three-month intensive learning program focused on business growth and mentoring. 

Following the program completion, Visa intends to further support fintech growth with capital investment in select participating businesses, while accelerating their commercial launch through access to Visa technology and capabilities.

The launch of the Africa Fintech Accelerator program follows Visa’s recent pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation and its long-term commitment to advancing Africa’s economies and driving inclusive growth. Fintech startups throughout Africa can apply to be part of the program through two application phases each year, starting from July 2023. With more than 1,000 Africa Fintech start-ups taking part in the Visa Everywhere Initiative* (VEI) competition in 2022, finalists from Africa country editions this year will be invited to join the accelerator program.

“Africa has one of the most exciting and admired fintech ecosystems in the world, bringing outstanding entrepreneurial talent to a young digital-first population that is growing fast,” said Alfred F Kelly Jr., Executive Chairman, Visa, Inc.

“Visa has been increasing our investments in Africa for decades and strengthening partnerships throughout the continent to support the next wave of innovation and growth.  Our new Fintech Accelerator will bring expertise, connections, and investment to Africa’s best fintech start-ups so they can grow at scale,”

Alfred F Kelly Jr.

The support for participating fintechs will help further strengthen the payment ecosystem by fast-tracking new innovations and technologies that provide solutions to challenges that are unique to the African continent, and which can further advance Africa’s digitization.

In line with Visa’s corporate purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid, this support of Africa’s fintechs will facilitate additional opportunities to expand financial inclusion.

“Africa’s fintech community is at the forefront of payments innovation and connecting more of the unbanked with access to the digital economy,” said Otto Williams, Head of Partnerships, Products and Solutions, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa.

Visa has been working with this innovative community to create new programs and solutions to help fintechs scale, while giving access to Visa’s technology and partner ecosystem.  Through the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, we are looking forward to working with more brilliant entrepreneurs and companies to shape the future of money.”

Otto Williams said.

In addition to its $1 billion pledge to Africa, Visa has recently introduced several business initiatives and programs to further advance the payments ecosystem in Africa.  These include:

• Establishing local operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia and Sudan to help support and strengthen the local financial ecosystem. Visa has 10 offices across Africa from which it supports payments in all 54 countries.
• Unveiling the first dedicated Visa Sub-Saharan Africa Innovation Studio, in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide a state-of-the-art environment to bring together clients and partners to co-create future-ready payment and commerce solutions.
• Introducing and expanding new technologies that help African consumers and merchants make and receive digital payments, such as Tap to Phone to turn a simple mobile phone into point-of-sale terminal, as well as lowering remittance costs through innovative solutions like Visa Direct.
• Establishing Visa as the fintech partner of choice, working with innovators and entrepreneurs, including through the Visa Everywhere Initiative program, with dedicated country programs in South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.
• Launching new programs to support women’s empowerment together with financial partners, including She’s Next, which is bringing funding, mentoring and networking opportunities to female entrepreneurs leading growing SMBs in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa.
• Collaborating, with partners, to advance financial literacy in several languages, including localized versions of Practical Money Skills in Egypt and Morocco for the first time.