Reported by Weng Patrick Atokor | journalist at Weng Global
Digital Encode Limited has unveiled an artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity platform designed to help organisations identify, test and address vulnerabilities before they are exploited by cybercriminals.
The platform, known as DEPAS AI — Digital Encode Penetration Autonomous System, is being positioned as a new approach to penetration testing and vulnerability management, combining artificial intelligence with automated security assessments to improve the speed and depth of cybersecurity testing.
Digital Encode showcased DEPAS AI during the 2026 RegTech Africa Conference and Expo in Abuja, where the company described the technology as one of its flagship innovations for reimagining penetration testing and vulnerability management.
The development comes at a time when Nigerian businesses, financial institutions, fintech companies, government agencies and other organisations are facing increasing cybersecurity risks.
AI takes a bigger role in cybersecurity
Cybersecurity threats have become increasingly complex as organisations move more services, data and business operations online.
For companies operating digital platforms, identifying weaknesses before attackers discover them has become an important part of protecting customer information, financial assets and critical infrastructure.
DEPAS AI is designed to address this challenge through autonomous penetration testing. Digital Encode describes the system as a “Deep, Precise, Autonomous System”, reflecting its focus on using artificial intelligence to conduct security testing and identify weaknesses.
The company’s public communications indicate that the platform is intended to improve security visibility, strengthen vulnerability management and support organisations in making more informed decisions about cyber risks.
Rather than waiting for a vulnerability to be exploited, organisations can use penetration testing to simulate attacks against their systems and discover weaknesses that need to be fixed.
The integration of AI could make such processes faster and potentially allow security teams to examine larger and more complex digital environments.
Nigeria faces growing cyber risks
The launch comes against the backdrop of warnings from Digital Encode about weaknesses affecting organisations across Nigeria.
In June 2026, the cybersecurity firm warned that many recent breaches were not necessarily caused by sophisticated zero-day attacks but by preventable weaknesses such as poor system configurations, exposed databases, weak credentials and inadequate operational controls.
The firm said threat actors had targeted financial institutions, fintech companies, government agencies and other organisations, with exposed systems creating opportunities for attackers.
Among the weaknesses highlighted were misconfigured cloud services, unsecured databases, exposed application programming interfaces, leaked credentials and publicly accessible storage systems.
The warning underscores the importance of technologies capable of continuously identifying security weaknesses.
From traditional testing to autonomous security
Traditional penetration testing typically involves cybersecurity professionals examining applications, networks and infrastructure for vulnerabilities and attempting to determine how attackers could exploit them.
While human expertise remains critical, the increasing size and complexity of digital infrastructure can make manual testing time-consuming.
DEPAS AI is designed to bring greater automation into that process.
Digital Encode has described the technology as an autonomous penetration-testing platform, with the company saying it combines human intelligence with artificial intelligence to rethink how organisations approach security testing.
The objective is not simply to identify vulnerabilities but to provide organisations with better visibility into their security posture and help them prioritise areas requiring attention.
For Nigerian companies dealing with rapidly expanding digital operations, such capabilities could become increasingly important.
What DEPAS AI could mean for businesses
For businesses, a major benefit of AI-driven cybersecurity testing is the potential to identify weaknesses before they become serious incidents.
A vulnerability that remains undetected can expose sensitive customer information, financial records, internal systems and other valuable data.
Cyberattacks can also result in reputational damage, financial losses, regulatory consequences and disruption of business operations.
By strengthening vulnerability identification, organisations can potentially reduce the time between discovering a weakness and taking corrective action.
Digital Encode has emphasised proactive cyber resilience as part of its approach to DEPAS AI, highlighting autonomous intelligence and precision-driven security testing as key elements of the platform.
AI does not eliminate the need for cybersecurity professionals
Despite the growing role of artificial intelligence, the deployment of AI in cybersecurity does not mean human expertise is no longer necessary.
Cybersecurity professionals still play important roles in interpreting findings, determining business risks, validating vulnerabilities, implementing remediation measures and making strategic decisions.
AI can support these professionals by automating repetitive processes and analysing large amounts of information, while experienced security teams provide context and oversight.
This human-and-machine approach is increasingly becoming important as organisations attempt to balance speed with accuracy and security.
Digital Encode’s work also reflects the broader growth of AI-assisted cybersecurity across Africa, as companies seek locally developed technologies capable of addressing the continent’s evolving digital-security challenges.
A wider cybersecurity challenge
The introduction of DEPAS AI also highlights a larger issue facing Nigeria’s digital economy.
As financial technology, e-commerce, digital banking, cloud services and online government platforms continue to expand, the potential consequences of cybersecurity failures also increase.
A successful attack against one organisation can affect thousands or even millions of users, depending on the systems involved.
Digital transformation therefore needs to be accompanied by strong cybersecurity practices, including secure configurations, effective identity management, vulnerability assessments, employee awareness, incident response planning and regular security testing.
Digital Encode’s recent warnings suggest that organisations cannot rely solely on sophisticated security technologies while ignoring basic security controls.
The road ahead
DEPAS AI represents Digital Encode’s attempt to bring greater automation and artificial intelligence into the cybersecurity testing process.
Its unveiling at the RegTech Africa Conference places the technology within wider discussions around digital trust, cybersecurity, financial technology, compliance and secure digital infrastructure.
As Nigerian businesses continue to digitise their operations, technologies capable of identifying vulnerabilities before criminals exploit them could become an increasingly important component of corporate cybersecurity strategies.
The success of such systems, however, will ultimately depend on how organisations use the information they generate. Identifying a vulnerability is only the first step; businesses must also have the resources, expertise and commitment to fix the weaknesses.
For Digital Encode, DEPAS AI marks another step towards its stated goal of using innovation to strengthen cybersecurity and digital resilience.
For Nigerian businesses, the development offers another reminder that cybersecurity must move beyond reacting to attacks and increasingly focus on finding weaknesses before attackers do.
Sources
- Punch — report on Digital Encode’s deployment of DEPAS AI.
- Digital Encode Limited — company information and DEPAS AI updates.
- Guardian Nigeria — Digital Encode advisory on cybersecurity weaknesses.
- Independent Newspaper Nigeria — report on rising cybersecurity breaches.
- Digital Encode executives’ RegTech Africa Conference 2026 posts on DEPAS AI.
