Of the many brands and companies present in the European country of Slovak, ESET stands out rather brightly. The Slovak software company is known for its highly-reliable anti-virus technologies such as the NOD32, Smart Security or their smartphone security software. Founded in Bratislava decades ago, the company has been able to make in-roads in most parts of the world and now has a presence in Africa.
In January 2019, the Slovak Republic Ambassador to Kenya, Frantisek Dlhopolcek paid a courtesy visit to then Cabinet Secretary of the National Treasury, Henry Rotich where they signed an agreement on development cooperation between the two countries and promote trade and development.
With such an agreement, companies like ESET took advantage of the opportunities presented in the East African region to set base in Kenya. In the period of operation, ESET is looking at how it can capitalize on the changing cybersecurity needs of the region with the aim of meeting the demands that come with it.
For example, ESET has observed that the current market in East Africa has been moving towards a cloud-based environment; as such data is becoming more vulnerable and we have witnessed the increased vulnerability of public and private data repositories to cyber threats and attacks.
“Our evaluation has led us to partner with companies that are looking to grow local cybersecurity skills and further develop the cybersecurity space in East Africa,” according to Ken Kimani, ESET East Africa Channel Manager.
“With the current advancements in cybersecurity everything from IoT (Internet of Things), Nextgen etc. we believe that our lessons emphasize going back to the basics and covering the fundamentals in securing data.”
The company has been evaluating these lessons by establishing strong partnerships in East Africa since 2015. Kimani acknowledges there have been many changes in the antivirus and cybersecurity scene which in turn has led to security companies changing their strategies.
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“The main question is what does the ‘traditional’ AV product accomplish in comparison to our current AV software? Our award-winning NOD32 antivirus technology covers everything from anti-phishing, antispyware, ransomware shield, advanced memory scanners, exploit blocker, and host-based intrusion prevention system (HIPS) to mention a few,” he notes.
Such features, Kimani says, are relevant in smart and mobile devices now more than ever. “The market understands the risks associated with the devices and are protecting themselves. Five years back not many people would have gotten our AV for their smartphones; however, nowadays clients are making requests for mobile security.”
ESET also has a strategy for the banking sector. Kimani says the fundamental step in the banking sector would be to cover the basics: computer endpoints that are open to cyber threats and could act as entry points to their infrastructure.
“Our Advanced Endpoint Protection bundle covers endpoint security (Windows/Mac/Linux), antivirus (Windows/Mac), mobile and file server security. We also cover mail server security, and our product, Dynamic Threat Defense acts as an extra layer of protection designed to mitigate new, unknown threats online.”
Kimani says the phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’ also applies to cybersecurity—more so in banks as the cost implication of a successful attack can be astronomical compared to investing in preventing the occurrence.
ESET has an Enterprise Inspector Endpoint Detection and Response tool that enables continuous comprehensive monitoring of real-time endpoint activity, in-depth analysis of suspicious processes and immediate response to incidents and breaches. Paired with ESET Endpoint Protection Platform, ESET Enterprise Inspector is a complete prevention, detection and remediation solution.
The Slovak company is investing in training partners on cybersecurity awareness and certifying them in ESET technologies. The company noticed that most companies and individuals wanted to bridge the knowledge gap in East Africa which led them to introduce free cybersecurity awareness training through a dedicated page
Kimani adds, “We keep receiving queries and we give professional advice to our diverse clientele across the continent with regards to prevention of data theft and even identifying potential security breaches before they occur.”
ESET chose to focus and invest on East Africa as a bloc. This decision was made based on the spirit and mission of the East African Community.
“The East African Community has been in existence for over 20 years, with the sole mission of deepening economic, political, social and cultural integration in order to improve the quality of life of the people of East Africa through increased competitiveness, value added production, trade and investments. This continues to grow, which is the reason why we decided to focus on the region,” he says.
Read also: ESET Releases 2018 Report : PredictsTrends in Cybersecurity(Opens in a new browser tab)
During the COVID-19 period, ESET has provided solutions for consumers to over 5,000 individual 90-day trials of ESET internet security to ensure that end users are protected as they are working from home.
Recently, ESET was part of a delegation of companies from Slovak that donated Covid-19 equipment and medical packages to Kenya to contain the effects of the pandemic. SlovakAid, a humanitarian relief program of the Republic of Slovakia donated 50,000 diagnostic tests, aimed at alleviating the effects of Covid-19 in Kenya.
The humanitarian aid worth about Ksh27 million ($250k), includes one PCR thermocycler device to perform the tests and 20,000 FFP2 respirators as well as 1,800 litres of hand sanitizer, among other supplies, from Bratislava, Slovakia.
Funded by ESET, the PCR test kits – vDetect COVID-19 RT-qPCR – were approved by the Slovak Republic’s State Institute for Drug Control (ŠUKL) and developed through the collaborative research of scientists from the Slovak company MultiplexDX and registered in the European Database on Medical devices (EUDAMED), for distribution in Europe as a CE-marked in-vitro diagnostic test.
