E-Business
A Look at the State of Cyber Security in Nigeria
Sometime in May, 2015, the Cyber Crime bill was signed into law. With this, individuals and organisations are now aware of what constitutes Cyber Crime as well as the punitive sanctions that goes with each type of crime.
Recently, Chidinma Iwe, CISO, MainOne, was my guest on Tech Trends, Channels Television and we had a chat around cyber security issues. He described the state of Cyber Security in Nigeria presently as a challenging and fast evolving environment and the landscape is ever changing.
He opined that the challenges that those saddled with the responsibility of security of enterprises will always be up to scale to meet up with what is going on globally because whatever happens in other parts of the world eventually happens here in Nigeria.
On the preparedness of Nigeria for the challenges of Cyber Security, he maintained that we are not as prepared as we need to be but, a lot of Nigerians are now paying close attention to it and industry watchers are carrying out a lot of awareness on Cyber Security.
In terms of preparedness, he is of the opinion that it will be expecting too much to ask of us in Nigeria, to be as prepared as the developed countries because of the level and state of our infrastructure, but we are fast growing.
In Chidinma’s view, Cyber Crime is controlled by cartels, just like in the illicit drug industry where we have drug cartels, which has a demand side and a supply side to it. Instead of blaming the supply side alone for the perpetration of Cyber Crime, the demand side that creates the need to activate the supply side should also be looked into.
On what companies and organisations should do to prevent them from falling victim to Cyber Crime, Chidinma suggested that they should start out by identifying what their critical assets which needs to be protected are.
They should, afterwards, weave their processes, policies, standards, etc., around securing those assets. This is important so that the value of their investment in security will not be more than the value of the assets being secured. In the end, however, critical assets are relative and different from organisation to organisation.
On why individuals still fall for Cyber Crimes through phishing emails, Chidinma opined that it speaks volume of the human mind and need. People, he said, like good things, but good things comes at a price, however, these phishing emails offer these good things for free, so, people fall for it because they think they can obtain these good things for free.
The fact, he maintained, is that, not only Nigerians fall victim of these, but many people also do all over the world. He advised that people should have it at the back of their mind that nothing goes for free and always remember these phrases, “not even in Freetown is anything free” and “if it is free, then, you may likely be the product”, so, people really need to be careful.
On getting rid of Malware attacks after the attacks have been detected, Chidinma maintained that it is better for Malware attack s to be prevented from happening in the first place because, a lot if damage will have been done when an attack takes place. By ensuring information awareness, people in an organisation should be advised not to click on links that can trigger a chain of events that can lead to Malware attacks. It is better to respond to references that directs you to a website for more information than to click on links.
Finally, on how organisations can better support tech initiatives to grow, Chidinma is of the opinion that tech organisations cannot enjoy the benefits from the tech ecosystem unless they support all sectors of the tech ecosystem to grow, hence, they should do more to support tech initiatives to grow to achieve this.
CFA is the Founder, www.techsmart.ng and Co-producer/Presenter,Tech Trends on Channels Television
Ignatius Kaigama, Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, has warned that the misuse of artificial intelligence (AI) could pose serious risks if technological innovations are not guided by strong ethical principles.
Artificial intelligence is a branch of computer science focused on creating machines or software capable of simulating human cognitive processes.
Kaigama gave the warning on Sunday during his homily at St. Anthony Mary Claret Pastoral Area, Zuba, in the Federal Capital Territory,
He said that while artificial intelligence has enormous potential to improve lives, its irresponsible use could have harmful consequences.
Citing the teachings of Pope Leo XIV, the Archbishop said scientific and technological advances should serve humanity, uphold human dignity and promote the common good.
“We witness the misuse of human freedom, the unethical application of science and medicine, and now, in Artificial Intelligence,” he said.
The Catholic prelate also warned against what he described as an increasing pursuit of material wealth at the expense of moral values, saying greed and the love of money continue to contribute to many of society’s problems.
According to him, the excessive pursuit of wealth has diverted many people from the values of truth, justice and service, weakening the moral fabric of society.
TeKnowledge and Equinix announced a partnership to accelerate secure hybrid and multi-cloud adoption and enable AI-ready digital infrastructure across the region.
Nigeria’s digital transformation is accelerating rapidly, with the digital economy being a significant contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
As demand for cloud services, AI adoption, digital payments and data-driven innovation continues to accelerate across West Africa, the partnership is positioned to advance the region’s digital transformation.
By combining Equinix’s in-country and global data centre infrastructure and secure interconnection capabilities with TeKnowledge’s expertise in designing, deploying and managing AI, data, customer experience and cybersecurity solutions, organisations can accelerate innovation while maintaining data residency and sovereignty requirements.
Together, the organisations empower enterprises and government institutions to bridge the gap between digital ambition and execution through secure, high-performance digital environments built on local infrastructure and delivered by local talent.
Speaking, CEO and President, TeKnowledge, Aileen Allkins, said: “Organisations across Africa are increasingly looking to modernise their infrastructure while maintaining the performance, security, and compliance required to support growth.
Through our partnership with Equinix, we are combining world-class digital infrastructure with deep local expertise to help customers accelerate cloud adoption, strengthen resilience, and unlock new opportunities through AI and emerging technologies.”
Managing Director of Equinix West Africa, Wole Abu, expressed delight at partnering with TeKnowledge to bring together Equinix’s globally interconnected platform, spanning over 280 data centres and 10,000 customers worldwide.
Uche Chigbo, coordinating director of Operations, National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), has said the newly enacted NIMC Act strengthens data protection and privacy, expands identity coverage to include everyone in Nigeria and Nigerians in the diaspora, and provides the legal framework for a secure and trusted digital identity ecosystem.
She said the new law replaces the 2007 NIMC Act, which had become outdated due to rapid technological advancements, evolving cybersecurity threats, the growth of the digital economy, and the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
According to her, the updated legislation better positions the Commission to deliver Nigeria’s digital identity agenda and improve access to government and private sector services.
“The Act itself has taken in a whole lot of things to make sure that NIMC is well-positioned to be able to deliver on the identity agenda and program of Nigeria. The area of universal coverage was expanded within the Act so that NIMC can enroll everybody that is within the soil of Nigeria—male, female, children, whether they are IDPs or orphans or whatever it is, and even Nigerians in diaspora.
“There is quite a lot within the Act that over the few days and weeks, even with my Director-General’s courtesy visit, we are trying to sensitize and educate the general public, and also bring awareness to this new Act so that people will know what are the rights that exist within it, what are the obligations, what are the stronger enforcement and penalties that has also been expanded within the Act, and then what are also the regulatory autonomy that has been given to NIMC to make sure that they drive the digital identity ecosystem in Nigeria,” she explained.
“There’s a lot of provisions and changes with the new Act. Um, the NIMC 2007 Act has been operating for close to 19 years now. So, we can see that, um, you can actually say it’s almost obsolete. And then with a lot of technological advancements in the world now, with the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, and then with also a lot of evolving security challenges, cybersecurity challenges, as well as the ever-growing digital economy, it became very necessary that a comprehensive review of the NIMC Act should be done.
So, that 2007 Act has been repealed and a new NIMC 2026 Act is in place,” she explained.
Chigbo clarified that the National Identification Number (NIN) is Nigeria’s unique identifier and the only valid means of identification for accessing government services.
She added that it enables secure identity verification and improves access to services.
“NIN has been designated as the unique identifier in Nigeria and then by the government of Nigeria establishing it as the only valid means of identification for assessing government services. So, NIN, it’s positioned to be a valuable tool for empowering citizens and legal residents to facilitate access to service delivery in Nigeria. And it’s also a tool for people to be able to prove their identity as they go about their daily businesses,” she said.
Speaking on identity harmonisation across government agencies, Chigbo said NIMC is integrating identity databases to enable Nigerians to access services seamlessly using the National Identification Number (NIN), while other agencies continue to issue functional identities for specific purposes.
“There’s a distinction between a foundational identity and a functional identity. NIMC provides the foundational identity, which answers the question, ‘Who are you?’ Are you a Nigerian or a legal resident? Who are you? That’s what NIMC is providing. All these other agencies that you have mentioned, they provide functional ID, which is an ID that relies on the foundational ID, where they have established who you are and then they are now trying to answer the question, ‘Are you now eligible to have these services? Are you now eligible to benefit from this transaction or scheme?’ So, those are two different distinctions.”
However, Chigbo said NIMC’s mandate is to harmonise and integrate identity systems across government, with the amended Act designating the Commission as the sole repository for biometric data.
“However, NIMC mandate is to make sure that we harmonize and integrate with all these agencies so that you’re one and the same person in any of the databases or registries that you have. The Act that has been expanded and amended also positions NIMC as the only repository for biometric data capture so that we can have effective identity management and coordination in Nigeria.
“So, that harmonization is already happening, the integration is already happening,” she stated.
She also disclosed that NIMC has introduced an online modification portal that allows Nigerians to begin the process of correcting or updating their personal information from the comfort of their homes or offices.
“But also, NIMC we have a modification portal that enables you to sit in the comfort of your home or office to be able to start the process of correction or updates of your data. We already have a self-service modification portal that allows you to make corrections,” she disclosed.
On the cost of obtaining a NIN, Chigbo clarified that enrolment and issuance of the National Identification Number are free.
She, however, noted that some other identity-related services attract approved fees, which are published on the NIMC website and paid electronically through the government Remita platform.
“Enrollment for the issuance of the National Identification Number, NIN, is free. There are other services, identity services that NIMC provide. Those ones have their charges, and those fees and charges are publicized on the NIMC website so that people can see what those charges are. And NIMC does not collect cash. Our transactions and the charges are paid electronically through the government Remita platform,” she said.
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