E-Business
Companies Groan under Cyber Espionage-Experts
Security response teams of big and small corporations are under increasing cyber espionage underscoring the need to build stronger firewalls to prevent damages, IT security experts have said.
A recent whitepaper released by FireEye at the weekend raised the red flag while local ICT experts point to the clear and present dangers of growing cyber attacks.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that today’s cyber attacks are sophisticated, relentless, and devastating as nations and companies writhe in losses.
FireEye’s Whitepaper highlighted the fears as attacking in multiple stages across multiple vectors, advanced persistent threats (APTs) and other sophisticated attacks easily evade signature-based detection and other traditional defenses.
FireEye was quaked by the alarming, available statistics which pictures that nearly half of all IT security professionals admitted they encountered malicious code in the last year that resulted in system downtime.
Collaborating the report, Ifeanyi Ozo-Onyali, managing director and chief executive officer, Proxynet Communications, added that banks, in particular, are blinded by the espionages, even as they are the worst hit.
He asked: “What exactly is cyber security? What are we really doing? Cyber security is not just about the firewall, intrusion/ infection system, prevention or just having the technology. Having the latest technology is very good, because we will always need it tomorrow, but guess what, attacks have changes.
“It’s just like armed robbers who no longer attack at nights; normally, people are scared to go to places at night, rather they waylay people early in the morning and afternoon. Cyber thieves have also changed the way they attack. But the chief technical officers and IT heads in different organizations are still focusing on the same method of prevention.
“Sometimes even with needed technology available, but they do not know when 90% of their data are breached. Some set up funny networks and that mess them up. Recently, we carried out a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a major bank in Nigeria with over 1500 branches, what we discovered was astonishing. They were actually blind against possible total breach on their network. So companies think they have gotten the right technology not knowing that they are just there, but the attackers have changed mode of operations. The attackers have all the time, sometimes, huge finances to carry out their unscrupulous activities”.
FireEye also said that nearly two-thirds of IT response team struggle to detect advanced persistent threats; 62 percent struggle with the speed of detection, and 44 percent others struggle with the accuracy of detection.
The leader in next generation threat protection, stopping advanced malware, zero-day, and targeted APT attacks that bypass traditional defenses identified ten (10) strategic mistakes or flaws in the planning, structure, and approach to IT security to include: failing to determine the scope of an incident; inadequate process for handling incidents; not involving executive leadership; not considering the legal aspects; Failing to communicate; not understanding the mechanics of the threat; incomplete infrastructure awareness; not monitoring internal network traffic; failing to log and not leveraging existing tools.
They also said that it is more worrisome, despite the teams’ feeling of cyber insecurity, only 28 percent of organizations have an incident response plan for APTs.
“In today’s threat landscape, cyber attacks are a given. Threat actors are targeting your organization, their attacks are more sophisticated, and how you respond to a growing deluge of incidents has never been more critical. Avoiding key strategic and technical mistakes can mean the difference between successfully fending off attacks or becoming the next headline,” FireEye said, sounding note of warning.
National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystems and secure seamless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
l-r: Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA, and Bisoye Coker-Odusote, Director General of NIMC, during the meeting at the NIMC headquarters in Abuja..
NITDA, which made the announcement on its X handle, said that the collaboration was to further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,
During the meeting, Kashifu Inuwa, director general of NITDA, and Bisoye Coker-Odusote, director general of NIMC, with some management staff of both organisations, discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of public-key infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up.
This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives and is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks.
Noble Ajuonu, head, Sydani Technologies Ltd., has urged the Federal Government to harmonise National Identification Number (NIN) and Bank Verification Number (BVN) to tackle crimes and insecurity in the country.
Ajuonu made the call at a media roundtable, organised by Sydani Group in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the roundtable focuses on driving sustainability through a comprehensive analysis of Nigeria’s key development areas.
Ajuonu said that Nigeria could overcome its security challenges and pave the way for a safer, more secure future for all Nigerians by embracing technology and implementing practical solutions,
“We need to harmonise data, prioritise seamless integration of databases like NIN, BVN, and security agency records, establish clear protocols for data sharing and access, with robust safeguards against misuse,’’ expert said.
According to him, the unified data pool will empower intelligence gathering and targeted operations.
He also called for investments in smart surveillance, intelligent video analytics software, training of personnel in data analysis, interpretation of data in real-time to combat crimes.
“There is need to implement a legal framework for call interception in criminal investigations, with strict oversight to prevent abuse, encourage community cohesion, training of tech savvy security personnel with tech-enabled tools.’’
Ajuonu also urged the government to address infrastructure deficit in technology, saying that technology was all encompassing to address insecurity.
“According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), as of December 2023, only 104.2 million Nigerians had been enrolled for the National Identity Number (NIN).’’
Ajuonu added that over 122.2 million citizens left uncaptured for NIN were people in rural areas where enrolment centres, digital services were limited.
“Most crimes are being perpetuated from rural communities and this lack of comprehensive identification creates a gap where elements not captured in the national database can constitute public nuisance, crimes.
“There is the inadequacy in the integration of NIN, BVN and Voters Identification Number (VIN).
“Advanced call interception and analysis tools, used successfully in other countries, could provide invaluable insights into criminal networks and operations but infrastructure is lacking,’’ he said.
Also, Mr Godfrey Petgrave, the Agricultural Expert, Sydani Group, called for empowerment of smallholder farmers with access to finance and training to enhance productivity.
According to Petgrave, Nigeria requires policy reform and institutional strengthening to improve agricultural practices and embrace digital agriculture solutions to address food insecurity.
Mr Akolade Jimoh, another expert of the group on health, advocated for expanded community-based health insurance programmes for rural and underserved areas.
Jimoh added that the country needed to encourage Public Private Partnership to revolutionise products design and quality improvement on health services.
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