esentry, a managed security services provider, has taken its cybersecurity awareness campaign to communities in Lagos, as effort to promote digital safety as businesses and individuals face growing exposure to cyber threats.
The 10-kilometre walk through Yaba and surrounding areas, brought together cybersecurity professionals and enthusiasts as part of the company’s activities for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an annual campaign observed every October to encourage safer online behaviour.
The initiative was designed to move cybersecurity conversations beyond corporate offices and into public spaces, highlighting how everyday digital habits can help reduce exposure to cybercriminals.
Under the theme ‘Don’t Make It Easy for Them,’ this year’s campaign emphasised the importance of consistent security practices in making it harder for attackers to exploit individuals, businesses and digital systems.
Gbolabo Awelewa, chief business officer at esentry, said the walk was intended to make cybersecurity more accessible to people outside the technology industry.
‘Cybersecurity awareness works best when it reaches people where they live and work. This walk was our way of taking the conversation out of the workplace and into the open, where cybersecurity leaders and enthusiasts could walk the streets together and engage the communities around them,’ Awelewa said.
He added that esentry was working towards a business environment where organisations of all sizes understand their cybersecurity risks and have appropriate protection.
The campaign comes as cybersecurity awareness becomes increasingly important to organisations that depend on digital systems to deliver services, process payments, store information and communicate with customers. Weak security practices can expose individuals and businesses to threats, including account compromise, data theft and financial fraud.
However, awareness campaigns alone cannot address the full range of cybersecurity risks facing organisations. Businesses also need effective monitoring, threat detection, incident response and compliance measures to identify and manage attacks.
esentry provides these services to clients across financial services, healthcare, government and telecommunications in West, East and Southern Africa. Its offerings include offensive security, automated threat detection, compliance advisory and artificial intelligence-powered defensive tools.
In 2019, the company became the first Nigerian company to earn ISO certification for its security operations centre, according to the company. The centre provides round-the-clock security monitoring and advisory services to clients.
The company also tracks cyber threats through its Eye of Horus Threat Intelligence Report, which examines the threat landscape in Nigeria and across Africa.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month was launched in 2004 through a partnership between the National Cybersecurity Alliance and the United States Department of Homeland Security. It promotes practical measures that individuals and organisations can adopt to strengthen their digital security.
For esentry, the Lagos walk represents an effort to extend those conversations beyond technical teams and corporate environments, placing greater emphasis on public understanding of digital risks.
The company said its broader objective was to encourage businesses, regardless of size, to understand their exposure to cyber threats and adopt security measures suited to those risks.