​Picture this: a GenAI-powered insurance system quietly miscalculates thousands of policies after its training data was poisoned. No alarms go off. No one notices - until claims are denied, customers revolt, and regulators move in.
 
That’s the kind of threat we’re facing. The real risk with AI isn’t what the AI does - it’s what’s been done to the AI.

From Reaction to Anticipation
For too long, cybersecurity has been reactive - waiting for alerts, responding to breaches, patching after the fact. But the threat landscape has evolved beyond that model. Today’s attackers aren’t just exploiting software vulnerabilities; they’re shaping data, manipulating algorithms, and undermining the very logic that powers modern enterprises.
 
I believe resilience starts before the breach. True cybersecurity isn’t about responding faster - it’s about preparing smarter. It’s about anticipating how systems might fail before they do, designing for continuity, and investing in defences that are evidence-based, measurable, and continuously validated.
 
Factual Cyber Investment: Building Security That Proves Itself
Boards are tired of “trust us” cybersecurity. They want proof. That’s why NEC XON is focusing on factual cyber investment - measurable, data-driven resilience strategies that demonstrate clear returns in risk reduction, system uptime, and incident avoidance.
 
We believe in a combination of advanced AI threat modelling, continuous verification of system integrity, and adaptive resilience testing to help organisations predict, not just detect emerging risks. This proactive stance transforms cybersecurity from a cost centre into a strategic enabler of business continuity and trust.
 
Anticipating Tomorrow’s Threats
The AI era introduces unseen vulnerabilities - from poisoned training data to compromised models. But the solution isn’t only to secure the “AI supply chain.” It’s to build anticipatory resilience into every layer of digital infrastructure, so that even when attacks evolve, organisations can adapt, recover, and continue operating with confidence.
 
That’s the real cybersecurity future: one where cyber resilience is proactive, predictive, and provable. Staying not just secure, but ready. Because in the next chapter of cybersecurity, survival won’t come from reacting to what’s already happened. It will come from anticipating what’s coming next.
 
About NEC XON
NEC XON is a leading African integrator of ICT solutions and part of NEC, a Japanese global company. NEC XON has operated in Africa since 1963 and delivers communications, energy, safety, security, and digital solutions. It co-creates social value through innovation to help overcome serious societal challenges. The organisation operates in 54 African countries and has a footprint in 16 of them. Regional headquarters are located in South, East, and West Africa. NEC XON is a level 1-certified broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) business. Discover more at https://www.nec.africa
 
Issued by: Michelle Oelschig, Scarlet Letter
Contact details: 083-636-1766, michelle@scarletletter.co.za

Complexity is the adversary of cybersecurity resilience. Too many organisations still try to secure their environments with a patchwork of point solutions, hoping that post-deployment integration will bring coherence. In reality, this approach creates silos, increases operational friction, and leaves exploitable IT blind spots. From a systems engineering standpoint, it’s the equivalent of assembling critical infrastructure from mismatched components without a unifying architecture - inefficiency, inconsistency, and failure are inevitable outcomes.

​The Business Cost of Fragmentation
The economic consequences aren’t theoretical. Global cybercrime has been projected to cost $10.5 trillion by this year, growing at 15% annually. The average data breach cost reached $4.88 million in 2024, an increase of 10% year on year. On average, it takes 204 days to detect a breach and 73 days to contain it, while 74% of breaches involve human error - a stark reminder that tool sprawl does little to address the underlying challenge.For business leaders, these figures aren’t just operationally inconvenient. They’re a direct threat to shareholder value, regulatory compliance, and brand trust. A fragmented cybersecurity environment is not just inefficient - it’s strategically dangerous.

Why Engineering Principles Demand Convergence
Security should not be treated like a collage. It should be a single, carefully engineered platform that delivers resilience from the ground up. From an engineering perspective, this requires:

• Native integration: Components designed to interoperate without fragile connectors.
• Shared intelligence: Real-time threat data distributed across the entire ecosystem.
• Unified policy enforcement: Consistent controls spanning network, cloud, and endpoint environments.

This approach mirrors well-architected enterprise systems - fewer moving parts, higher reliability, and faster average time to response.

Platforms as Force Multipliers
Leading cybersecurity vendors such as Palo Alto Networks are already proving the power of platform thinking. Their solutions go beyond collections of best-of-breed tools; they form cohesive ecosystems where infrastructure, workloads, and users are protected in unison. The benefits are measurable: improved visibility through a single pane of glass, accelerated detection and remediation through automation, and a reduced attack surface thanks to unified controls.For CFOs, this means lower total cost of ownership. For CIOs, it simplifies operations. And for CISOs, it provides the foundation for resilience at scale.

The Strategic Question
As technology leaders, we must ask ourselves: are we engineering a security architecture - or just collecting disconnected tools? Shifting the conversation from products to platforms isn’t just a word game. It’s a strategic move where integration moves from feature status to foundational status in enterprise security.

About NEC XON
NEC XON is a leading African integrator of ICT solutions and part of NEC, a Japanese global company. NEC XON has operated in Africa since 1963 and delivers communications, energy, safety, security, and digital solutions. It co-creates social value through innovation to help overcome serious societal challenges. The organisation operates in 54 African countries and has a footprint in 16 of them. Regional headquarters are located in South, East, and West Africa. NEC XON is a level 1-certified broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) business. Discover more atwww.nec.xon.co.za.
 
Issued by: Michelle Oelschig, Scarlet Letter 
Contact details: 083-636-1766, michelle@scarletletter.co.za

When it comes to enterprise cybersecurity there’s often more noise than clarity. More tools than alignment. More pressure than purpose. My mission is to cut through all of that — not just to secure environments, but to enhance them. I don’t see myself as a traditional security architect or consultant. I see myself as something different: a Security Enhancer.

Constant corporate adaptation to new business models and their technology requirements is a double-edged sword. While it’s an unavoidable business need, the process introduces a constant stream of new cyber threats and vulnerabilities. The critical question is: how do organisations proactively prepare for these cyber-attacks?

Different organisations take different approaches to cybersecurity, depending on their response teams and strategies. NEC XON’s Managed Detection & Response (MDR) Team adopts a unique, adversary-centric mindset—a proactive approach to threat anticipation. This approach ensures organisations stay ahead of potential breaches instead of merely reacting to them.

MDR: the proactive approach to cybersecurity
NEC XON’s MDR Team employs a range of processes to reduce the risk of a breach. These include:

Advanced Threat Hunting
Cybercriminals continuously refine their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). The NEC XON MDR Team actively researches these evolving threats and proactively hunts for them in an organisation’s environment. Rather than relying solely on security solutions' detection mechanisms, the team seeks out hidden threats and neutralises them before they cause harm.

xCTEM – Extended Continuous Threat Exposure Management
NEC XON’s xCTEM platform assesses potential threats by analysing publicly available and dark web data. This includes:

• Leaked credentials
• Exposed systems
• Other security risks that could be exploited

Additionally, External Attack Surface Management (EASM) allows the MDR Team to assess potential entry points into an organisation. Once vulnerabilities are identified, the team provides guidance and implements necessary preventative actions to minimise risk. 
According to Gartner, by 2026, organisations prioritising their security investments based on a continuous threat exposure management programme will suffer two-thirds fewer breaches.

BAS Simulations – Testing security resilience
To ensure optimal security performance, the NEC XON MDR Team conducts Breach and Attack Simulations (BAS) to test the effectiveness of security controls like EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) and XDR (Extended Detection and Response).

Additionally, tabletop exercises assess how well an organisation’s stakeholders and the NEC XON MDR Team respond to simulated attacks. These exercises extend to training end-users on best practices, helping them become a second line of defense against cyber threats.

Continuous identity & endpoint security policy optimisation
With identities being a prime target for attackers, the NEC XON MDR Team constantly evaluates and strengthens identity security measures for both on-premises and cloud environments. This approach ensures:

• Comprehensive access security across platforms
• Swift response actions when necessary
• Optimised endpoint detection models tailored to each organisation's environment

These measures are further reinforced through collaboration with NEC XON's Cybersecurity Architects.

The importance of proactive security measures
Cybercriminals are increasingly clever about how they attack. Many attacks succeed simply because organisations don’t conduct the necessary assessments and proactively mitigate risks.

At NEC XON, the MDR Team focuses on securing high-value targets while also identifying potential blind spots—areas often overlooked but susceptible to attack. By taking a proactive stance, NEC XON MDR ensures organisations experience minimal disruption, even as they scale and grow.

The key to cybersecurity is preparation. Organisations must invest in security as if they have already been breached. By doing so, they build resilience against future attacks and ensure business continuity. The best time to strengthen your security was yesterday. The next best time is now.

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a good time to discuss the new ways scammers are finding to trick people into divulging their sensitive information (social engineering). Social engineering uses people’s emotions to trick them into revealing sensitive information. Today, we focus on four common social engineering attacks: phishing, vishing, smishing, and quishing.

In a hyper-connected, always-on world, both citizens and businesses must develop robust, multi-layered cybersecurity strategies to combat the flourishing cybercrime ecosystem. These illicit markets have become more accessible, necessitating security strategies and tactics that reflect the increased prevalence of attacks.

Defence-in-Depth and Modern Attack Surfaces
Employing defence-in-depth methodologies alongside expanded defences into modern attack surfaces—including cloud-based systems, IoT devices, and mobile endpoints—is crucial. The rise of hybrid work models has expanded the attack surface, making it imperative to include mobile defence layers that address mobility and environmental changes. Perimeter defence alone is now obsolete.
With SaaS solutions being hosted, managed, and controlled by third parties, it is vital to control access to these applications from a network, session, and identity perspective. While modern authentication methods have enhanced identity security, they have also introduced new vulnerabilities. Reckless provisioning and granting of OAuth access without proper policies have created significant attack vectors for cloud resources.

Evolving Network Access Security
Traditional VPN architectures are no longer sufficient to protect infrastructure from malicious access. Cloud-native Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions offer robust security for both on-premises and cloud resources. These always-on zero trust access solutions protect all resources from any endpoint and location. When combined with secure browser technology, they mitigate popular malware delivery mechanisms and limit initial access vectors.
Consolidation is key when it comes to defensive tools. Extended Detection and Response (XDR) solutions integrate multiple detection, prevention, and response tools into a single platform, increasing Security Operations Center (SOC) efficiency. By ingesting data from various sources such as networks, endpoints, identity providers, and clouds, XDR platforms ensure effective correlation and analysis, transforming millions of events into actionable alerts.

Adapting to New Cybersecurity Challenges
As we transition from offices to airports and coffee shops, we need elastic, scalable, and robust cybersecurity measures to counter the risks of being true digital nomads. Threat actors are evolving and adapting their attacks to this new environment, where our offices are everywhere, and our data is spread across multiple locations and platforms. As the attack surface expands along with our work boundaries, cybersecurity is more critical than ever and will continue to evolve with modern technology.

Will you evolve with it, or be left behind with the other victims?

Thabiet Gabier, Head SHEQ Department at NEC XON

I am delighted to share the news that our Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) department has received the ISO 45001 certification. This is a significant advanced safety culture milestone for NECXON, making us one of only two NEC affiliates in EMEA, alongside NEC UK, to achieve this rigorous standard.

ISO 45001 is not just a certification; it's an international standard that transcends geographic, political, and social boundaries. Achieving this certification demonstrates our unwavering commitment to providing a safe working environment, reassuring our clients, vendors, staff, and subcontractors that NEC XON upholds the highest standards of occupational health and safety wherever we operate. Being assessed by a respected certification body and meeting these stringent requirements on a global scale enhances our reputation, making us a preferred service provider for international organisations looking to do business in Africa.

A Rigorous Implementation Process
The process of obtaining ISO 45001 certification is extensive, involving theoretical understanding, practical implementation, and proof of compliance. The journey begins with management’s commitment to advanced safety culture, as accountability is a critical aspect of the standard. Given the stakes involved in people's safety, the first step is to conduct a gap analysis to understand our current position and identify areas for improvement.

Understanding the context of our organisation involves an analysis to identify internal and external stakeholders and their expectations. This information helps define our OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) scope, outlining the specific areas and activities covered by our Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS). One of the biggest challenges was interpreting OHS in a way that fits our dynamic organisation. Implementing a practical approach that aligns with both the OHS Act and ISO standards required extensive development, planning, and training. After 18 months of hard work, we achieved certification with only two minor non-conformities, which we have already addressed.

At NEC XON, our executives, managers, and department heads are well-versed in their responsibilities towards the OHSMS, documented in an OHS Scope document signed annually by the CEO. Unique to ISO 45001 is the emphasis on worker participation, necessitating an OHS Committee with both worker and company representatives to address safety concerns effectively.

Risk management is another cornerstone of ISO 45001. Setting SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based) helps manage and mitigate risks. At NEC XON, we hold monthly risk review sessions where hazards and risks are openly discussed, allowing for practical mitigation strategies.

Change Management and Competence
Change management is integral to the certification process. Organisations must demonstrate how changes are assessed, communicated, and adopted without endangering the workforce. Competence and documentation are emphasised, requiring competent personnel and comprehensive documentation of processes, policies, and procedures.

Operational aspects involved demonstrating daily safety practices, showing that staff and subcontractors are aware of their duties and conduct them safely. Internal audits play a significant role here, where organisations review their initial gap analysis and evaluate compliance with standards, policies, legal requirements, and customer expectations. These audits inform management reviews, essential for continual improvement.

The Culmination - Achieving Certification
The certification process culminates with an external audit. Auditors review monthly inspections, OHS Committee meetings, risk reviews, training records, and other evidence. Based on their findings, the auditor either recommends certification or identifies areas for improvement. Certification bodies like BSI verify the auditor’s report and, if all requirements are met, issue the certification.

Overall, the process of obtaining ISO 45001 certification ensures that organisations establish a comprehensive system to manage occupational health and safety risks, ultimately protecting employee well-being and enhancing operational efficiency.

Improvement and People Involvement
Back in September 2021, NEC XON did not have a dedicated OHS department. The commitment began by appointing a dedicated resource to direct SHEQ, which, I, Thabiet Gabier, now lead. Our managers understand their legal responsibilities to ensure their staff work safely. For our clients, the word "trusted" is crucial, and they expect us to adhere to international standards without further scrutiny.

We established an OHS Committee with nominated staff representatives who are trained to raise critical issues. This committee meets quarterly and remains active in bringing safety concerns to top management’s attention. To align with the standard, certain staff underwent ISO 45001-2018 requirements, implementation, and internal auditor training. Our Internal Auditor and I received lead auditor certification to ensure a strategic approach to meeting the standard’s requirements. This training provided valuable insights into the difference between implementation and auditing, allowing us to identify necessary training for our staff, from legal liability to first aid and fire training.

Maintaining and continually improving our standards involves strict adherence to existing processes and procedures, regular drills, and readiness assessments. Our goal is to create an advanced safety culture throughout the organisation, ensuring our colleagues return home safely every day.

Forging Ahead
Our commitment doesn’t end with certification. We will continually assess our processes, strive for improvement, and ensure that safety remains a top priority at NEC XON. Thank you for your support and dedication to making NEC XON a safer place to work.

Michael de Neuilly Rice, Cyber Security Architect at NEC XON

In an era where workplace boundaries are increasingly fluid, traditional enterprise network security is inadequate. The rise of cloud adoption, coupled with the ubiquitous nature of remote work, demands a security solution that is as dynamic and agile as the modern workforce itself. Enter Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), the beacon guiding enterprises toward a future-proof network infrastructure.

What exactly is SASE, and why is it gaining traction among forward-thinking organisations? According to Gartner, SASE delivers a convergence of network and security capabilities as a service, encompassing SD-WAN, SWG, CASB, NGFW, and zero trust network access (ZTNA). It's a comprehensive approach to security that supports various use cases, from branch offices to remote workers, all while adhering to the principles of zero trust.

Contrast with traditional VPNs
At its core, SASE is about simplifying secure access without compromising on security. Unlike traditional VPNs, which rely on complex site-to-site tunnels, SASE connects endpoints directly to the service, eliminating the need for a vendor-specific perimeter firewall. This direct connection streamlines access to shared resources while enhancing security through dynamic access control. Imagine it as a smart keycard system for your network, granting access based on identity and context, and adapting to evolving security needs in real-time.

By leveraging ZTNA principles, SASE ensures that only compliant devices and identities gain access, mitigating risks associated with unauthorised access. This seamless integration extends to modern identity providers like Microsoft Entra, augmenting security through conditional access policies and single sign-on convenience.


Agility and scalability
As the landscape of work continues to evolve, SASE offers a scalable solution that grows alongside your business. Its cloud-native architecture enables organisations to adapt quickly to changing needs, facilitating digital transformation initiatives and the rapid deployment of new services or applications.

In a world where security is paramount, SASE provides the foundation for a secure, flexible, and resilient network infrastructure. By embracing SASE, organisations can navigate the complexities of modern enterprise networks with confidence, ensuring that security strides hand in hand with innovation.

Yosuke Koide, General Manager: Global Synergy Creation

​Like many countries on the African continent, South Africa has a young, growing population. However, its roughly 60-million population face a challenge that may be surprising to people from other countries: daily power outages that may last as long as 12 hours. It’s a challenge that Yosuke Koide is working to address through cutting-edge technology developed by NEC.​

Michael de Neuilly Rice, NEC XON Cyber Security Architect

NEC XON often finds itself at the nexus of innovation, exploring new technologies to enhance defence mechanisms against evolving threats. Recently, while implementing a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution for a client, our team had a moment of reflection: could a mature Extended Detection and Response (XDR) system have provided even greater benefits?

The contemplation led us to delve deeper into XDR and its potential to render traditional SIEM and Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) solutions obsolete. XDR represents a paradigm shift in cybersecurity, consolidating functionalities that were once dispersed across multiple tools. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), automation, and SIEM seamlessly converge within XDR platforms, offering a unified interface for detection and response.

XDR: Redefining Detection and Response
Modern XDR embodies years of refinement, addressing the challenges that security teams faced with disparate tools and configurations. Traditional approaches required analysts to navigate between EDR, automation, and SIEM, consuming valuable time during incident investigation. With XDR, this fragmentation is dissolved. Many EDR solutions now rebrand as XDR, expanding their coverage to include signals from various sources such as devices, identities, networks, applications, and cloud environments. The emphasis shifts towards ingesting and analysing these signals to generate actionable insights, streamlining incident response. Simplified usability and implementation have become paramount, driving the evolution of security software vendors.

Even industry giants like Microsoft are recognising the significance of this shift, evident in the integration of their SIEM and SOAR solution, Sentinel, into Defender XDR. This trend underscores the value of centralised solutions capable of processing and responding to diverse signals, greatly benefiting Security Operations Centres (SOCs).

Who's Falling Behind?
Meanwhile, traditional endpoint protection solutions focusing solely on host-based and agent-based software signatures and behaviour analysis are rapidly becoming obsolete. Many antivirus vendors struggle to defend modern infrastructures against organised cybercrime operations orchestrated by sophisticated adversaries. The need for comprehensive data on environmental activities is paramount, as merely detecting malware is insufficient. Machine learning and AI offer powerful capabilities, but their effectiveness hinges on data availability. Relying solely on endpoint software analysis is inadequate in today's dynamic threat landscape.
​
Looking Ahead: Innovations on the Horizon
As the competition for the ultimate XDR solution intensifies, anticipation grows for the innovations that lie ahead. Failure to innovate promptly risks being left behind, akin to operating a SIEM without XDR integration. As we navigate this new era, embracing XDR becomes imperative for organisations seeking to fortify their defences against new threats.

Unmasking AiTM: The Resurgence of Adversary-in-the-Middle Attacks in Cybersecurity
In the dynamic realm of cybersecurity, threats often disappear temporarily, only to evolve and reappear in more sophisticated forms. One such resurgence is the Adversary-in-the-Middle (AiTM) attack, a potent phishing tactic that poses a significant risk to the security of SaaS applications. How should organisations prepare themselves to counter this formidable threat?

The Dark Web and the Accessibility of Cybercrime:
The rise of a flourishing black market on the Dark Web has democratised cybercrime, making it accessible to a broader spectrum of individuals. Cybercrime-as-a-Service organisations coupled with user-friendly tools have lowered the barrier of entry, allowing anyone with compromised identities to become a successful hacker.

Zero Trust Principles:
Microsoft's "Evolving Zero Trust" white paper defines core principles for a successful Zero Trust strategy:

• Verify Explicitly: Make security decisions using all available data points, including identity, location, device health, resource, data classification, and anomalies.
• Use Least Privilege Access: Limit access with just-in-time and just-enough-access (JIT/JEA) and risk-based adaptive policies.
• Assume Breach: Minimise blast radius with micro-segmentation, end-to-end encryption, continuous monitoring, and automated threat detection and response.

Identity-Centric Zero Trust and ZTA:
Identity-Centric Zero Trust builds upon Zero Trust principles, making user identity the new perimeter. Strict controls and continuous authentication mechanisms ensure that only authorised entities gain access to sensitive resources.

• Adaptive Authentication - Behavioural Analysis: Implement advanced authentication methods that analyse user behaviour to detect anomalies, ensuring access is granted only to legitimate users.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) - enhanced security layers: Integrate MFA protocols, focusing on passwordless and phishing-resistant methods like Windows Hello for Business and FIDO2 keys. Extending MFA to all sections of the organisation is vital to sustain the identity-centric approach.
• Policy-Based Access Control - Dynamic Policies: Implement granular access control policies adapting based on contextual factors, such as user location, device health, compliance, and time of access.
• ITDR (Identity Threat Detection & Response): ITDR aims to reduce the time it takes to identify and respond to threats by combining information from all identity sources. Automated attack disruption stops identity attacks and lateral movement activities using compromised credentials, delivering consistent protection for human and non-human identities.

The Future of the Modern Perimeter:
As organisations embrace cloud-based services, remote work, and diverse devices, the traditional network perimeter becomes obsolete. Identity-Centric Zero Trust, fortified by Zero Trust Architecture, represents the future of cybersecurity. By placing identity at the forefront, organisations can adapt to the dynamic nature of modern business environments, proactively protecting assets and maintaining data integrity. In a digital landscape characterised by complexity and rapid evolution, Identity-Centric Zero Trust stands as a beacon guiding organisations towards a secure and adaptive future.

To defend against cyber threats effectively, businesses must prioritise increasing cybersecurity awareness among their employees. This awareness ensures that employees are well-versed in maintaining their "cyber hygiene" and understanding how to identify and prevent cyber threats. With the right tools and knowledge, employees can act proactively to prevent security incidents that could lead to data breaches, causing significant harm to a business's operations, finances, and reputation.

Five strategies to thwart the thieves
In this blog, we explore five contemporary strategies designed to cultivate cyber awareness and enhance employee resilience against social engineering.

1. Make Cybersecurity a Part of New Employee Onboarding - One effective way to instil the importance of cybersecurity among employees is by integrating it into their onboarding process. Educating employees about their roles and responsibilities in upholding information security can help businesses build a robust defence against cyber threats. However, it's crucial to remember that cybersecurity training should not end with onboarding; it should be an ongoing part of your business's strategy to maintain awareness.
2. Cybersecurity Training and Workshops - A comprehensive security awareness training program is essential to boost overall cybersecurity awareness among employees. Such programs provide employees with the knowledge and confidence needed to recognise cyber threats and respond appropriately to prevent them. They also help employees understand the process of escalation in case of a security incident. One way to engage employees effectively is through interactive live video demonstrations. These demonstrations provide a comprehensive understanding of the entire attack lifecycle, from its inception to how it appears to an end-user.
3. Executive Cyber Drills - Cyber drills are an excellent way to test an organisation's defences, specifically employees’ ability to respond quickly to potential threats in a simulated environment. These drills, often run by internal or external teams, simulate cyber-attacks to test a business's security measures. Different types of drills challenge different sets of employees and skills, such as phishing simulations, which test employees' alertness in identifying and avoiding phishing scams.
4. Get Senior Management to Promote Cyber Awareness - Leadership within a business plays a critical role in promoting cybersecurity awareness. Senior-level management must model appropriate cybersecurity hygiene, setting the tone and standard for the entire company. By displaying behaviour expected from employees, leadership helps instil a culture of cybersecurity awareness throughout the organisation.
5. Implement Robust Cybersecurity Policies - While most employees understand the importance of protecting company security, some may not take it as seriously. It's essential for businesses to be clear with their employees about the consequences of repeated security failures. A single careless employee can have a detrimental impact on the entire organisation. Each organisation should determine appropriate measures for handling repeat failures and offer rewards for proper precaution.

Cybersecurity awareness is a critical component of an organisation's defence against the growing threat of cyberattacks. By implementing the strategies mentioned above and continuously educating and engaging employees, businesses can enhance their cybersecurity posture and create a resilient workforce that is well-prepared to tackle the challenges of the digital age. Remember, in the battle against cyber threats, informed and aware employees are your first line of defence.

​By employing cutting-edge machine learning algorithms and advanced analytics, NEC XON’s AI solutions offer the ability to uncover hidden patterns, predict trends, and make data-driven decisions with greater accuracy and efficiency.  But what about our humanity?.

It’s about more than business

NEC XON is dedicated to tackling societal challenges and driving social value by leveraging data and AI technologies. We aim to help create a sustainable future, deliver social benefits, and empower individuals. Fundamental societal transformation has led us to recognise that corporations have to go beyond merely pursuing profit, and help to provide social value to benefit everyone. Respect for individual freedoms and the responsible sharing of limited resources are crucial aspects of NEC XON’s approach. Furthermore, a sustainable future requires effective talent acquisition and training a younger generation to meet future needs. These are just some of the vital challenges that we aim to overcome through data analytics and AI technologies.

NEC XON envisions a world where data acts as a bridge between the real and cyber worlds, and AI serves as the catalyst for analysis and application. By collecting and analysing data from sensors, we help customers gain a deeper understanding of their businesses and the world. This information is then processed using cyber-world analytics and AI to generate insights and conclusions, which are subsequently applied in the real world to create social value.

What AI is and where we apply it

To us AI comprises three fundamental steps: recognition and understanding, thinking and analysis, and action and prescription. AI algorithms effectively computerise human intellectual activities, but efficiently process vast amounts of data. However, AI applications are not solely reliant on technology; human input is crucial in optimising the value created by AI. NEC emphasises the importance of strong AI governance and ethical principles to ensure responsible and beneficial use of AI.

Our parent company NEC has successfully applied AI across various environments and industries. In manufacturing, AI enables automated inspection of production lines and products, reducing costs and ensuring standardised quality. Retail environments benefit from AI-powered demand forecasting, minimisng losses and optimising ordering systems. In financial services, AI aids in fraud detection, lowering detection costs and providing explanations for suspicious account identification. NEC also applies AI in infrastructure monitoring to prevent malfunctions and in healthcare for AI-based self-care, promoting healthier lifestyles while reducing the workload on medical professionals.

NEC XON’s commitment to AI and data analytics reflects our dedication to creating social value and addressing societal challenges. By leveraging the power of data and AI technologies, we pioneer practical applications that drive business growth, enhance operational efficiency, and promote the well-being of individuals and communities. Through responsible and ethical AI implementation, NEC XON is shaping a data-centric world for the better.
​
If you’d like to discuss any aspect of this blog, please feel free to reach out to us at info@nec.xon.co.za. We’d be delighted to chat.

According to the “State of ICT Skills in South Africa 2021” report by the Information Technology Association of South Africa (ITA), there is a significant skills gap in the country’s ICT sector. The report concluded that:

• South Africa has a significant shortage of ICT skills, with an estimated 40,000 unfilled vacancies in the sector.
• The skills shortage is most acute in the areas of software development, cybersecurity, data analytics, and cloud computing.
• The shortage of skills is leading to significant productivity losses, with companies struggling to implement new technologies and systems due to a lack of qualified workers.
• Despite the high levels of unemployment in the country, many ICT companies are struggling to find suitable candidates to fill vacancies.
• The skills shortage is exacerbated by a lack of investment in training and education in the ICT sector, as well as skilled workers leaving the country for opportunities abroad.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of ICT skills, with many businesses and industries relying heavily on technology to continue operations during lockdowns.

Overall, the ITA report emphasises the urgent need for increased investment in training and education in the ICT sector to address the skills gap and boost economic growth. Fortunately, NEC XON has launched a new Human Capital business unit, which offers a range of workforce management and contract resourcing solutions to meet the critical staffing needs of South African businesses.

Traditional sourcing methods like using web portals have become less effective, and the emergence of social media has changed the sourcing landscape forever. At the same time, the workforce has also evolved, with different values and demands regarding work-life balance. Smart resourcing has become the new normal, and NEC XON’s Human Capital team is well equipped to help IT executives find the right talent to achieve their business objectives.

What sets NEC XON’s Human Capital business unit apart is the personalised approach to each client engagement. The team works closely with IT executives to understand their specific skills requirements and sources the right talent to meet those needs. With a deep understanding of the talent landscape across various industries and roles, the team delivers tailored staffing solutions that align with each client’s unique needs.
In addition to recruitment services, NEC XON’s Human Capital business unit also offers workforce management solutions to help IT executives optimise their staffing operations. These solutions include workforce planning, scheduling, performance management, compliance and risk management. By leveraging Human Capital’s expertise in workforce management, IT executives can streamline their staffing processes, reduce costs and improve efficiency.

NEC XON Human Capital’s track record is testament to our understanding of the past and current ICT employment landscape, and we are well-poised to meet the future challenges of this highly competitive market. As an IT executive or business owner, partnering with NEC XON’s Human Capital business unit provides a valuable resource to address your critical skilled contract resourcing needs. Contact us for more information about how NEC XON can help your organisation achieve its staffing goals and drive business success.

​5G OpenRAN (ORAN) technology that enables mobile operators to open the RAN network and use multi-vendor solutions holds huge promise for business growth in Africa. It means network operators can focus capital expenditure (capex) on competitively priced open-standards equipment rather than proprietary gear.

“It enables attractive savings of about 40% on capital expenditure and 30% on operating expenditure (OPEX),” says Willem Wentzel, head of Wireless at NEC XON. “It can also be deployed in a matter of two to three days instead of up to nine months. But the realities of Africa mean that 5G ORAN will initially be limited to private corporate networks in industries like mining, manufacturing and industrial where large campuses are common. Public ORAN networks are likely to remain on 4G for the moment, given the level of investment in existing infrastructure and the prohibitive cost of 5G handsets (UE) for consumers.”

​Private corporate networks – NEC XON’s thin edge of the wedge
Private 5G ORAN networks will break the ice and help to bring down unit costs for the public market, and Wentzel says NEC XON is currently bringing proof-of-concept kits into Africa for three clients in these industries.
“The ability to privatise 5G ORAN will enable machine-to-machine (M2M), business to business (B2B) and push-to-talk communication on campus, or anywhere in the country (or the world) on a company site using a phone app. To date, most of these campus applications used WiFi simply because it was the only tech feasible to use given that all 4G spectrum has been allocated on a national level to monopolistic MNO players. “The shortfall with WiFi is industrial-scientific noise which limits the guaranteed throughput and customer experience. As such, it is a ‘best effort’ service,” Wentzel explains. “That creates a lot of latency in the network which means the signal isn’t reliable enough for B2B and M2M services. Due to its reliability in design, 5G ORAN guarantees low latency and enables remote operation of both B2B and M2M processes.” Wentzel says the mining industry is particularly hungry for low latency networks that enable control of machinery and reduce the risk of human injury – and increase productivity since the technology can work 24×7 whereas a lot of mines can’t currently work at sunset because of safety concerns.

Wentzel says a key hurdle to overcome is scaling the network to the point where it makes economic sense. “Each of these companies wants its own 5G ORAN core on campus. Finding the right operation and business support system (OSS/BSS) is vital to the business case and, with our partners, we are already building cost-effective models. This is especially important in industries like mining where the network coverage need is intricate – a reality that impacts on cost.” Wentzel  says NEC XON is developing a unique panel which deflects 3.7GHz signals into specific areas where coverage is required – underground, for example.

NEC XON has also invested in network assurance with its acquisition of Aspire – whose solutions can monitor and display the performance of the network, highlight any weak points and optimise network usage on any vendor’s solution. That doesn’t just improve the network itself, but it reduces total cost of ownership by allowing for predictive maintenance, for example.

Wentzel explains that predictive maintenance goes deeper than simple early warnings. The Aspire solution will tell support workers what to look for and what spares to take with them to effect repairs. “This actually plays right into the total cost of ownership point,” says Wentzel. “Currently, you’d need a rigger, an engineer and a labourer to be on site to do repairs. A predictive maintenance solution will often obviate the need for an engineer, and allow a suitably qualified technician to simply replace the part as indicated.”

NEC XON 5G ORAN blueprint
“Of course, each client’s private network will be unique from the features, functions and scalability perspectives,” Wentzel says. “But the good news is that the savings in terms of time and money will make 5G ORAN a worthwhile investment very quickly. The solution can use existing ducting and data centre infrastructure, doesn’t require intervention by a structural engineer to approve and oversee building alterations, or building approval from municipal authorities.
The solution also extends to any industry with a campus environment, and can cover multiple dispersed campuses too. “A bank could have one core instance of the solution deployed, and allow employees in Johannesburg to communicate via the internal network to employees at its Cape Town campus, for example. Much like a PABX, your mobile device becomes your extension,” Wentzel explains. “The difference is that you’re using the internal company network instead of the public GSM network.”