Virtual Infosec Africa and Exabeam launch AI-driven monthly-subscription cybersecurity solution for businesses

By Juliet ETEFE ([email protected])

Virtual Infosec Africa (VIA), in partnership with global cybersecurity firm Exabeam, has launched Ghana’s first AI-driven, monthly subscription-based cybersecurity solution aimed at helping businesses defend against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

The monthly subscription model allows institutions to access enterprise-grade security information and event management (SIEM) capabilities without the burden of high upfront costs, while ensuring full data residency and compliance with national regulations.

Speaking at the launch in Accra, Emmanuel Sekyere Asiedu, Chief Executive Officer of VIA, described the new solution as “the first of its kind globally,” designed to make advanced cybersecurity accessible to African organisations that often struggle with high upfront costs.

Recent data highlights the urgency of action where African organisations now face over 3,000 cyberattacks per week, the highest frequency globally.

“We observed that across Africa, many organisations require these services but are constrained by high upfront costs. In partnership with our collaborators, we developed a model that allows us to deploy the solutions immediately while customers pay through affordable monthly subscriptions based on size and capacity instead of a full-year upfront payment” he explained.

He emphasised that the subscription model would help governments and businesses save on foreign reserves while expanding access to essential digital infrastructure.

Mr. Sekyere Asiedu further highlighted the national significance of the initiative, linking it to Ghana’s broader digitalisation agenda.

He explained that the platform aligns with efforts to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure while protecting data sovereignty.

“Our strategy is to ensure data residency, data compliance and sovereign AI capabilities. None of our data is in the hands of foreigners; everything sits here in Ghana,” he said, warning that foreign control of critical data poses significant national security risks, noting: “You don’t need to drop a bomb to destroy an economy when someone else controls your data.”

The CEO also confirmed that VIA is collaborating with the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) to ensure that sensitive national systems are hosted on private cloud platforms within Ghana, a key differentiator from competitors who rely on foreign or public cloud systems.

The launch comes against the backdrop of a widening cybersecurity skills gap in Africa, at a time when global deficits have surpassed four million.

Norvisi Addo, Head of Security Operations at VIA, noted that these shortages leave organisations increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats.

In response, he said VIA has positioned itself as a comprehensive provider of cybersecurity solutions, integrating electronic surveillance, incident response, managed security services, AI-driven monitoring, endpoint protection and forensic investigations.

“The goal is to help organisations turn risk into resilience,” Mr. Addo said, noting that VIA assumes the burden of implementing and managing complex security systems, allowing institutions to focus on their core mandates.

He stressed that VIA’s AI-driven, monthly subscription-based SIEM platform, , integrates cloud and on-premise environments, provides early-warning intelligence, automates vulnerability management and offers full digital forensics capabilities.

. He encouraged organizations to strengthen their proactive security posture, cautioning that a single cyber event has the potential to cause serious operational setbacks and substantial financial implications.

“We have already invested in the technology and architecture, clients only need to subscribe, just like buying data,” he said, noting that VIA’s solution ensures full data residency in Ghana.

From a global perspective, Ramy Muhammad Ahmad, Principal Director for Exabeam iMETA, described the LogRhythm–Exabeam platform as a multi-agent, AI-powered Security Operations Centre (SOC) engine capable of identifying both known attacks and sophisticated zero-day threats.

The system integrates six autonomous AI agents that operate around the clock, assisting analysts with investigations, threat hunting, risk scoring, advisory functions, reporting and visualisation.

Mr. Ahmad emphasised that the platform eliminates blind spots by using behavioural profiling and advanced analytics to detect anomalies in real time.

He also highlighted a shift from traditional generative AI to “agentic AI,” which allows organisations to securely automate SOC functions while ensuring oversight of AI itself, a “watching the watcher” framework to prevent misuse.

Exabeam offers both fully on-premise and cloud-based deployments tailored to government, financial institutions and private organisations, providing flexibility and ensuring full data sovereignty.

For his part, Omar Naggar, Principal Cybersecurity Pre-Sales Engineer at Exabeam, underscored the unique positioning of the platform as the only fully on-premise, AI-driven security solution for high-security environments in Ghana.

He stressed that offline functionality, including AI model updates, allows organisations to maintain complete ownership and control of their data, a key consideration for government, military and other sensitive institutions.

Mr. Naggar also explained that the platform reduces analyst workloads by automating tasks that previously took hours, guiding teams through intuitive workflows while embedding auditing, monitoring and zero-trust controls.

VIA’s operational models were detailed by Mr. Daniel Affum, who explained the company offers two main deployment approaches, a fully managed security service and a co-managed, on-premises model. Under the fully managed option, VIA builds and operates all core components, including SIEM, RhythmX, RhythmAI, threat intelligence, endpoint detection and response (EDR) and SOC operations, allowing clients to focus solely on their core business.

For institutions requiring on-premise infrastructure deployment due to compliance or governance requirements, VIA deploys the full stack within the client’s environment and provides continuous remote or on-site SOC support.

Mr. Affum emphasised that both models are designed with strict adherence to data minimisation, strict access control, privacy by design and default, and full compliance with Ghanaian regulatory frameworks, including the Data Protection Act, Cybersecurity Act and Bank of Ghana directives.

He explained that onboarding is structured to provide immediate value, with VIA supporting clients through asset discovery, log source identification, connector deployment, ingestion configuration, parsing and fine-tuning for efficient and cost-effective monitoring.

Sector impression

Mr. Isaac Socrates Mensah, Senior Manager at the Computer Emergency Response Team at CSA, speaking on behalf of the Acting Director-General, commended VIA for introducing a “revolutionary innovation” that advances enterprise and national cyber resilience.

He emphasised that the initiative symbolises Ghana’s strong commitment to elevating cybersecurity as a strategic imperative for business continuity, national security, economic stability and digital trust.

Mr. Mensah urged organisations to adopt AI-driven cybersecurity solutions capable of detecting anomalies, predicting attack paths and enabling real-time automated responses.

Similarly, Daniel Klu, Acting Head of Information Security at the Bank of Ghana, stressed that defending against AI-powered threats requires equally advanced AI-based defence systems. He highlighted the importance of extending protection across the financial ecosystem, noting that “cybersecurity is only as strong as the weakest link.”

Mr. Klu expressed confidence that the partnership with VIA would significantly enhance the resilience of Ghana’s financial sector and cement the country’s position as a leader in cybersecurity innovation on the continent.

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