Operators Warn against Cybercrime

By Emma Okonji

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), the umbrella body for Information Technology (IT) practitioners in Nigeria, has expressed concern over the increasing rate of cyber-security challenges in the country.

To this end, the group has advised government and the private sector on new measures to nip the development in the bud.
NCS gave the new measures during its second stakeholders’ forum on cyber-security, which held recently in Abuja.

Worried about the increasing rate of cyber challenges in the country, technology experts who attended the forum, advised government to urgently introduce internet monitoring, to blacklist fraudulent sites and fake news sites in the country.

In his welcome address, the President of NCS, Prof. Adesina Sodiya said NCS observed that cyber attacks in Nigeria was on the increase, based on current local and International reports that were alarming.

According to him, “Individuals, governments, and corporate organisations are losing huge sums of money and property due to cyber-attacks. Threat techniques are continually changing, and attacks are getting more sophisticated by the day, hence the need to discuss cyber-security challenges in Nigeria in our forum, with a view to preferring lasting solutions to the identified challenges.”

NCS is committed to IT development in Nigeria and had organised the stakeholders’ forum towards addressing the factors mitigating efficient use of IT for leapfrogging development, Sodiya added.

The NCS organised the forum to provide reliable platform for analysing the situation critically and provide reliable solutions to Nigeria’s cybersecurity challenges for financial institutions, regulatory agencies, government, corporate organisations, telecommunications institutions, information technology professionals, security experts and law enforcement agencies.

Issues of financial fraud, cyber-attacks, social engineering, cyber-security education, formulating national cyber security strategies, cyber security regulation and ethics, youth and social media, fake news and hate speech, were discussed at the forum.

In a communique issued at the end of the forum, stakeholders identified the reason for the increasing rate in cyber insecurity and proffered solutions.

They stressed the need for government to train more of youths on ethical hacking and how to use historical data through the help of artificial intelligence to fight cybercrime.

The trainings, according to them should be either academic or vocational, and government must ensure that all organisations have a security policy in place.

Also, chief executive officers should be trained to identify the sensitive data used in their organisations.

“Cyber-security trainings should also be included at the basic education level, the trainings should be made interesting for example the training can be in form of games for kids to help develop their interest.

“There is need to develop our own internal resources and technology to store our sensitive data as a nation. The National Information Technology Development Agency of Nigeria (NITDA) should enforce the use of government emails in all government agencies for security reasons.

“There should be enhanced enforcement of the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) laws. Chief Executives who violate the laws should be sanctioned. Government should formulate cyber-security policies that includes the private sector.

“Government should also specify in a gazette, the lists of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). This will give the telecommunication operators some measure of protection,” the communique further said.

Citing global statistical report, which estimated that by 2023, African cyber-security market would worth about $45 trillion, experts at the forum, advised government to key into the sector and generate jobs that would make up for the current shortfall of 2.3 billion jobs in cyber-security. They said government, in collaboration with the private sector, should train and produce cyber-security experts to address the shortfall.