Telecom
Cybersafe Foundation Trains NITRA Members on Cybersecurity Awareness & Risks Mitigation
With billions of devices now online, new threats pop-up every second with more people becoming susceptible to attacks. To this end, Cybersafe Foundation, a cyber-security awareness organization in collaboration with the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI) have trained members of Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association, NITRA, on cybersecurity awareness and vulnerabilities mitigation antics.
L-R: Bharat Soni – Chief Information Security Officer – Gtco Plc ; Confidence Staveley – Founder, Cybersafe Foundation ; Favour Femi-Oyewole – Group Chief Information Security Officer – Access Bank Plc; Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale – Chief Visionary Officer/ Co-Founder, Digital Encode; Igboa Abumere – Chairman Committee of Chief Information Security Officer of Nigerian Financial Institution (CCISONFI) at a capacity building workshop for ICT journalists in Lagos on Friday.
The training which took place on Friday, December 3, 2021 at Romey Hall, Awolowo Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, was themed: ‘NoGoFallMaga’.
The training was basically designed to raise awareness on emerging cyber security trends, hazards of cyber threats and assaults, as well as how to avoid them.
In their presentations, the experts said that cybersecurity threats and attacks are not going away and that the occurrence could become the next pandemic.
The experts highlighted the dangers of corporations, governments, and individuals refusing to build barriers and walls to protect their platforms, digital tools, and applications from cyber-attacks.
They, in various presentations, exposed participants to various cyber security concerns considered as digital pandemic.
On his part, Femi- Oyewole, Group Chief Information Security Officer, Access Bank, warned that cyber-attacks would be the next post-Covid pandemic saying that it is critical for businesses and people to begin building resilience and backups for their systems, platforms, and apps. She urged organisations to check their ability to bounce back should they suffer any attack.
“If anything happens to you, how quickly can you bounce back? Have you checked your resilience, do you have a backup”, she asked.
According to her, integrity, confidentiality, and availability of a good cybersecurity system must be put in place by organisations as part of their cybersecurity strategies.
Femi-Oyewole continued “You need to put necessary measures in place to quickly detect any breaches and remedy. Vulnerability is any flaw or weakness that can be exploited. There should be counter measures in place to prevent, minimize or report any breaches on time so that corrective measures can be taken up immediately”.
Bharat Soni, Chief Information and Security Officer, Gtco Plc, said organizations should work to mitigate cyber security challenges such as insider fraud, business email compromises, ransomware, and phishing.
He further explained that cyber threats and assaults have increased due to technological advancements, social-economic considerations, and insufficient criminal justice. He listed the most recent cyber security breaches as Twitter compromise 2020, Colonial Ransomware Attack 2021, and Cyber Breach of an Undisclosed Nigerian Bank 2021.
For him, social media has become a challenge to reporting cyber incidents as many people do not check the authenticity of news posted on these social media platforms.
Soni noted that this is why media collaboration is critical to cybersecurity awareness.
CCISONFI Chairman and the Chief Information Security Officer, Stanbic IBTC, Igboa Abumere noted that there is need for awareness despite the cybersecurity regulations. “We are highly regulated but we still need to know how to protect ourselves,” he stated.
Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale, Chief Visionary Officer/ Co-Founder, Digital Encode, enjoined ICT journalists to get equipped with knowledge of trends in the cybersecurity ecosystem. This he said, will empower the journalists to inform the public with accurate and factual cybersecurity information in their reportage.
The capacity building workshop also had in attendance Founder, Cybersafe Foundation, Confidence Staveley with over 30 ICT journalists and media entrepreneurs.
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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