Digital Encode, a Nigerian cybersecurity firm, has launched DEPAS AI, a fully autonomous enterprise access testing platform designed to help organisations detect and counter AI-driven cyber threats. The launch took place on Monday, August 17, 2026, according to a press conference attended by Legit.ng.
Rising AI-Enabled Breaches Prompt New Defense Tool
The move comes as IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report reveals that AI-enabled breaches now account for 25% of all malicious incidents, marking a 56% year-over-year increase. The average cost of such breaches reached US$6.04 million, significantly higher than the global average of US$4.99 million.
Regionally, attack activity remains highest in North America at 29%, followed by Asia-Pacific at 27%, Europe at 25%, Middle East & Africa at 10%, and Latin America at 9%, underscoring the borderless nature of the AI-driven threat.
How DEPAS AI Works
DEPAS AI, which stands for Digital Encode Autonomous System, was built to shift organisations from periodic, manual assessments to continuous autonomous cyber resilience. The platform deploys a team of specialised AI security agents that operate concurrently across an organization's entire attack surface. An agentic coordinator orchestrates the operation, maintains full context of the system under test, analyses results in real time, and spawns follow-up agents to ensure deep coverage.
Every finding is then independently reproduced by a verification agent to eliminate false positives. A proprietary chain-builder also maps individual vulnerabilities into high-impact attack chains, revealing how adversaries could exploit them in sequence.
Key Capabilities and Expert Insight
DEPAS AI autonomously tests enterprise-bespoke applications, web applications, APIs, mobile applications, backend systems, cloud environments, and network/IP infrastructure. Its key capabilities include autonomous testing with 24/7 coverage, verified accuracy through independent validation, attack chain mapping, and actionable outcomes such as executive-ready reports, remediation guidance, and compliance mapping.
“AI is now being weaponised by attackers to move faster than human teams can respond,” said Prof. Obadare, the Chief Visionary Officer at Digital Encode. “DEPAS AI combines Artificial Intelligence with Human Intelligence to give organizations the same speed and scale in defense. We are reimagining access testing for the AI era.”
With DEPAS AI, Digital Encode aims to equip enterprises in Nigeria and around the world with the tools to detect, prioritise, and remediate risks before they can be exploited by cybercriminals.
Broader AI Initiatives in Nigeria
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria has launched a continent-wide artificial intelligence initiative called the Atlas Network, designed to develop AI systems rooted in African languages, cultures and indigenous knowledge. Digital Minister Bosun Tijani announced the initiative during the 7th Ordinary Session of the Conference of Plenipotentiaries of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), held in Abuja.
