​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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

​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.”