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NCC wants Nigerian websites to adopt Universal Acceptance – Technology Times

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The Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that Universal Acceptance (UA) is critical to ensuring Nigeria’s diverse population can access and use digital services regardless of language, script, or the format of their domain names and email addresses.

The commission gave the warning at the 2026 Universal Acceptance (UA) Adoption Workshop held Thursday in Lagos, hosted by the NCC in collaboration with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Opeolu Oyebanji, Head of the Internet Infrastructure Unit, Cyber Security and Internet Governance Department at the NCC, said Universal Acceptance aligns with the telecoms regulator’s objective of promoting a resilient, secure, inclusive and interoperable Internet ecosystem.

Oyebanji said ensuring digital platforms can accept, validate, process, store and display all valid domain names and email addresses would make online services more accessible to Nigerians.

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Opeolu Oyebanji, Head of the Internet Infrastructure Unit, Cyber Security and Internet Governance Department at the NCC. Image credit: Technology Times/Rilwan Oladapo.

“For a diverse country such as Nigeria with many languages, Universal Acceptance presents an important opportunity to make the Internet more resilient, accessible to a wider population,” he said.

Supporting Nigeria’s diverse languages

Universal Acceptance is a technical compliance best practice that enables websites, applications, email systems and other Internet-enabled platforms to work with valid domain names and email addresses regardless of their language, script or character length.

According to Oyebanji, the technology is particularly important for Nigeria because of the country’s linguistic diversity.

“For a diverse country such as Nigeria with many languages, Universal Acceptance presents an important opportunity to make the Internet more resilient, accessible to a wider population,” he said.

He added that a UA-ready digital ecosystem could support local content, expand access to digital services, improve user experience and create new opportunities for businesses, developers and innovators.

The NCC’s position comes as the global Domain Name System continues to expand beyond the traditional Latin-character domains that have historically dominated the Internet. ICANN says Internationalised Domain Names allow domain names to be represented in local languages and scripts.

ICANN identifies gaps in Nigerian websites

Yaovi Atohoun, Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Director, Africa, at ICANN, told participants that many people globally remain excluded from the full benefits of the Internet because they cannot use domain names or email addresses in their preferred language and script.

He described Universal Acceptance as “the cornerstone of a more inclusive and multilingual Internet”.

Atohoun disclosed that ICANN surveyed 100 Nigerian websites to assess their UA readiness. About half of the websites had no issues by design, particularly publication-only websites, but platforms requiring user input were more likely to encounter problems.

The assessment tested whether websites could accept email addresses containing characters from different scripts.

“Of the 16 sites that rejected our Bengali address, 14 run WordPress,” Atohoun said.

He added that 27 websites returned ambiguous messages during the assessment, with 12 of those also running WordPress.

ICANN has contributed code to WordPress to address some UA-related challenges. Atohoun said WordPress 6.9, released in 2025, resolved one part of the problem, while another plugin was being tested.

$9.8bn opportunity for businesses

Beyond digital inclusion, Atohoun said Universal Acceptance presents a significant economic opportunity for businesses.

He cited a 2017 study which estimated that Universal Acceptance of Internet domain names represents an opportunity worth more than $9.8 billion, describing the estimate as conservative.

“Many businesses are leaving money on the table by not updating their systems to be UA-ready,” he said.

According to Atohoun, businesses that adopt UA-ready systems would be better positioned to reach growing global audiences and maximise revenue opportunities from current and future Internet users.

Universal Acceptance requires systems to go beyond simply allowing users to enter different characters. Platforms must be able to accept, validate, process, store and correctly display domain names and email addresses.

NCC seeks technical action

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Yaovi Atohoun, Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Director, Africa, at ICANN. Image credit: Technology Times/Rilwan Oladapo.

Atohoun disclosed that ICANN surveyed 100 Nigerian websites to assess their UA readiness. About half of the websites had no issues by design, particularly publication-only websites, but platforms requiring user input were more likely to encounter problems.

The NCC said achieving Universal Acceptance would require more than awareness campaigns. Oyebanji said websites, applications, email systems and other digital platforms must be tested, gaps identified and corrected, while UA readiness should be incorporated into system design, software development, procurement and service delivery.

“Achieving Universal Acceptance requires more than awareness. It also calls for a deliberate technical action,” he said.

He stressed that responsibility for adoption does not rest with one institution, but requires collaboration among government, ICANN, registries, registrars, developers, software vendors, academia, the private sector and the technical community.

The NCC official said the commission’s previous UA initiatives, including awareness workshops held in 2023 and 2024, provided a foundation for the latest engagement.

He said the 2026 workshop was intended to move Nigeria “from awareness and engagement to practical Universal Acceptance adoption”.

Developers urged to embrace UA

Atohoun also urged software developers and system administrators to make Universal Acceptance part of their core technical skills.

He described UA as a new competitive differentiator for developers seeking to remain relevant as the Internet becomes increasingly multilingual.

“Universal Acceptance is essential for developers who want to be at the forefront of their industry and keep pace with the new, global Internet,” he said.

For Nigeria, the push is expected to have implications for government platforms, financial services, e-commerce websites, educational systems and other digital services that require users to create accounts or submit email addresses.

A UA-ready digital ecosystem would allow Nigerians to use online identities that better reflect their languages, cultures and personal preferences, while businesses could potentially reach customers who are currently underserved by existing systems.

The NCC called on stakeholders participating in the workshop to identify technical and institutional barriers to UA adoption and agree on practical actions for improving the readiness of Nigerian digital platforms.

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NCC seek stronger cyber resilience as AI intensifies cyber threats

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October 29, 2026

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called for stronger collaboration, improved digital security infrastructure and effective policies to address emerging cyber threats driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Dr Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, made the call at the second edition of the International Cybersecurity Conference (ICSC), held on Tuesday in Abuja.

The theme of the conference was, “Cyber Resilience in the Age of AI: Defending Minds, Networks and Nation”.

Maida said AI had significantly increased the sophistication, speed and scale of cyberattacks, making cybersecurity a national imperative.

He said telecommunications infrastructure had become central to Nigeria’s digital economy, supporting financial transactions, communications, public services and business operations, thereby making its protection critical to national security.

He said cyber resilience went beyond preventing attacks to developing the capacity to anticipate, withstand and recover from disruptions while ensuring the continuity of essential services and economic activities.

According to him, emerging threats include AI-driven phishing, automated credential attacks, deepfakes designed to bypass authentication systems and malware capable of modifying itself to evade detection.

“The recent international cybersecurity incidents involving attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in France and spyware targeting journalists and media personnel in the Middle East underscore the need for stronger digital defences.

“Section 4 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, mandates the commission to protect consumer rights, safeguard national interests and promote the safety and efficiency of communications infrastructure.

“We have established the NCC Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) to monitor threats, facilitate intelligence sharing and coordinate responses to cybersecurity incidents across the telecommunications sector,” he said.

Maida said that the commission’s cyber resilience framework for the Nigerian communications sector provided common security standards for licensed operators and strengthened coordination with the national Computer Emergency Response Team, (ngCERT).

“There are three critical areas for strengthening cyber resilience. They include protecting human minds through cybersecurity awareness.

“There is also securing networks through robust security architecture, and defending the nation through collaboration among regulators, telecommunications operators, financial institutions and security agencies,” he said.

He urged telecommunications operators to adopt Zero Trust Architecture, which requires continuous verification of users and systems, while ensuring that AI models integrated into network operations were regularly assessed for vulnerabilities.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, said that digital development and national security could no longer be treated as separate priorities.

Ribadu was represented by Prof. Gerald Ilukwe from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) .

He said that AI presented opportunities for strengthening cyber defences but could also enable criminals to develop sophisticated scams, clone voices and spread false information.

He urged Nigerians to verify identities and authenticate suspicious requests before taking action.

“There is a need to secure digital supply chains, including AI models, data services and third-party technology providers.

“Vulnerabilities within one organisation can compromise other institutions and critical national infrastructure.

Ribadu said that the ONSA, through the National Cyber Security Coordination Centre, was strengthening coordination among relevant institutions and providing tools, laboratories and cyber ranges to analyse threats, investigate incidents and test response capabilities.

He said that a review of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy, last updated in 2021, was underway to address emerging challenges, including AI-enabled fraud, supply-chain vulnerabilities, workforce development and international cooperation

“Recommendations from the conference will contribute to the ongoing review. The revised strategy will establish measurable priorities, promote accountability and strengthen the country’s capacity to respond to cyber incidents,” he said.

Rep. Ayodeji Stanley, Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, described cybersecurity as a moving target that required continuous innovation, adaptable legislation and international cooperation.

Stanley drew on his experience working on complex information technology systems in the United States.

He said the transition from traditional computing to cloud technologies had introduced new security challenges, requiring continuous improvements in protection mechanisms.

He urged policymakers, security experts and technology practitioners to develop forward-looking solutions that would protect critical systems across sectors, including food security.

Stanley said that cyberattacks could have consequences beyond the disruption of digital services.

He called for a collective global response to cyber threats, saying countries must work together to develop effective policies and innovative approaches capable of addressing the rapidly changing cybersecurity landscape.

(NAN)

The post NCC seek stronger cyber resilience as AI intensifies cyber threats appeared first on Business Today NG.

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Upwind raises $400M after walking away from Datadog acquisition offer

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October 29, 2026

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Upwind, a San Francisco startup that uses AI to secure cloud infrastructure, has raised a $400 million Series C round at a $3.8 billion valuation led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from existing backers including Greylock Partners and Craft Ventures.

The round comes nine months after Upwind closed its previous $250 million financing at a $1.5 billion valuation.

The fresh funding, which has been in the works for months, nearly fell apart after Datadog attempted to buy the company, according to a person familiar with Upwind. Datadog is a publicly traded company that sells tools for monitoring how software runs, known as observability. It didn’t offer a premium above the $3.8 billion valuation set by venture capital investors, the person said, so Upwind decided to stay independent.

Four-year-old Upwind has grown rapidly amid rising AI-driven cybersecurity threats. The startup has been adding $20 million to $30 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) each quarter and is projected to end the year at roughly $90 million, according to a person familiar with Upwind’s financials. That means that VCs and Datadog valued the startup at more than 40 times its forecast ARR, a common yardstick for pricing software companies. The high multiple is also well below the 80x ARR fetched by Cyera, another fast-growing cybersecurity startup, according to TechCrunch reporting from earlier this year.

Cybersecurity is poised to be the third big wave of AI software that companies will pay for after AI coding tools and customer support, Theory Ventures general partner Tomasz Tunguz recently wrote in his widely read blog.

By walking away from an acquisition offer, Upwind clearly believes that the company will ultimately be worth more than the $3.8 billion that Datadog was ready to pay for it. However, given how few cybersecurity companies have gone public in recent years, an eventual sale remains the most likely outcome for the startup.

Upwind continues to draw acquisition interest, according to a person familiar with the company.

The startup was founded by Amiram Shachar, who sold his previous company, the cloud spend management startup Spot.io, to NetApp for $450 million. Upwind calls its approach to thwarting threats “runtime” security, which means it alerts and remedies attacks and vulnerabilities in active services in real time.

TechCrunch has reached out to both Upwind and Datadog for comment.

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