Olá,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- NITDA warns WordPress users in Nigeria
- Nigeria’s ETAP breaks new ground in Ghana
- Vendease trims team for future gains
Nigerian agency warns WordPress users
If you’re running a WordPress site in Nigeria, listen up — this is for you! The National Information Technology Development Agency just sent out a serious security alert about a new vulnerability called CVE-2024-28000, affecting over 5 million websites globally.
The problem? It’s with the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, a tool many people use to speed up their websites. Hackers can exploit this and potentially take full control of your site. Yep, it’s as bad as it sounds.
Here’s the scoop: the issue lies in the plugin’s “role simulation” feature, which gives cybercriminals admin access to your site without needing a password. Once they’re in, they can install malicious plugins, steal your data, or even redirect visitors to sketchy websites. It’s a huge deal, and you don’t want to be on the receiving end of this.
To make things worse, the attack is easy for hackers to pull off, thanks to a weak hash function and the simplicity of the exploit. They can brute force their way in or use exposed debug logs to grab admin rights. If your site gets hit, you could be dealing with data theft, site defacement, or worse, your visitors being sent to dodgy websites.
But don’t freak out just yet — there’s something you can do! NITDA recommends you update the LiteSpeed Cache plugin to the latest version (6.4.1) ASAP. You can do this in your WordPress dashboard under “Plugins.” Also, turn off debugging on live sites (it can expose sensitive info) and regularly check your plugin settings for risks.
While LiteSpeed Cache helps boost your site speed, it has had its share of vulnerabilities in the past, from cross-site scripting to privilege escalation. The key to staying safe?
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Keep everything updated and stay alert for any security warnings. So, if you have not already, go update that plugin right now — your website’s safety depends on it!
Nigeria’s ETAP breaks new ground in Ghana
Ever felt like the Nigerian car insurance market is too crowded? Well, you’re not alone.
ETAP, the Nigerian insurtech startup, is thinking the same and has just secured Ghana’s first-ever insurtech licence as part of its bold move to go Pan-African. Why? According to ETAP’s CEO, Ibrahim Babalola, the Nigerian car insurance market simply isn’t big enough for the kind of growth they’re aiming for.
Babalola explains that anyone trying to build an insurance business in Africa needs to have a wider, continent-spanning vision. He points out that the UK alone has more cars than the entire African continent, which massively limits growth potential for a company sticking to just one African country. And he’s got the numbers to back it up: while Africa has 26 million cars, the UK tops that with 33.7 million.
But it’s not just the small market size that’s pushing ETAP to look beyond Nigeria. Insurtech companies like ETAP are shaking up the traditional insurance game with fresh, tech-driven approaches that make insurance easier to access. From insuring your car in just 90 seconds to rewarding you for safe driving,
ETAP is speeding things up and making insurance a whole lot more convenient. And they’re not stopping there. Their tech even uses telematics to detect when a car is in a crash, streamlining the claims process like never before.
While the regulations around this new kind of insurance aren’t fully in place yet, Babalola is optimistic. He says industry players and regulators are already talking about creating a dedicated category for insurtechs in Nigeria, possibly by the end of 2024.
Want to know more about how ETAP is changing the insurance game across Africa? Read Bolu’s story and find out how this startup is transforming car insurance one country at a time!
Vendease trims team for future gains
Vendease, a Nigerian food tech startup, is letting go of 20% of its staff as it aims for long-term sustainability. Co-founder and CEO Tunde Kara explained that this decision came after months of careful evaluation.
In January 2024, they brought in Mohamed Chaudry as CFO. With his background in food tech, including time at Foodhub, Chaudry was tasked with fine-tuning Vendease’s operations and prepping the company for future fundraising rounds.
His audit, combined with a change in the company’s business model, revealed areas for improvement, prompting the decision to downsize.
Consequently, 68 employees, or 20% of the team, are being let go. Kara reassured that affected staff will still have access to health insurance and will receive at least a month’s salary based on their contracts. Plus, Vendease’s HR team is stepping up to help with recommendations and job placements elsewhere.
Vendease started out as a marketplace linking food businesses to suppliers. But over the past two years, they’ve expanded into credit and payment services. Realising how tough it is for Nigerian food businesses to access credit due to low-profit margins, Vendease built a credit rating system to help extend credit with confidence that it will be repaid.
Since its launch, Vendease has provided over $72 million in credit, most of it in the last year. They’ve also nearly tripled their customer base since their Series A funding and previously laid off around 20 employees in 2022.
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Have a terrific Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
