E-Business
Experts Harp on Capacity to Combat Cybercrime
Stakeholders in the information technology security ecosystem have identified capacity challenge as major in the fight against cyber attack in the country and reeled out measures to combat the menace.
Oluseyi Akindeinde, chief technical officer, Digital Encode- Centre for Information Security Intelligence (CISI), said that there are not enough know how amongst the industry practitioners to combat cybercrime.
He explained that most organisations in the country cannot afford preventive measure against hackers.
“For instance, Coreimpact software, which is a tool use by organisations and governments to conduct security checks on their networks cost between $75,000 and $100,000 and the training costing almost the amount is out of reach to many organisations. Presently, there are only two organisations in the country that have this software,” he added.
Another challenge he said is investigation. “There are not too many centres for post mortem analysis of cybercrime in the country that will facilitate forensics investigation. More so, the absence of any sort of legal framework hampers amongst other things cybercrime prosecution. How do you bring a perpetrator to book if there isn’t a legal framework in place,” he said.
He noted that, banks are most susceptible to attacks because they happen to be the low hanging fruit in the cyber security eco system since they house critical customer information and account details. “Anyone who is able to circumvent the security of a banking institution will be on to a gold mine”.
Adding his voice, Chris Uwaje, managing director, Connect Technologies, said that the infrastructure of the Internet does not normally provide an automated mechanism for identifying the true source. “With the deployment of anonymous software, it is increasingly difficult and sometimes impossible to trace cybercriminals. At the same time, other services available in some countries, such as pre-paid calling cards, lend themselves to anonymous communications. All of these technologies make identifying criminals more difficult, even though they have other benefits.
There are countless other technical challenges we face, like those stemming from Internet telephony, strong encryption, and wireless and satellite communications. The technological advances in electronic commerce and communication that have led to the explosive growth of the Internet have also made it possible for international criminals and terrorists to target victims in all our countries in unprecedented ways”.
He added that one of the challenges faced by investigators and prosecutors is in the legal arena.
Deterring and punishing computer criminals require a legal structure that will support detection and successful prosecution of offenders.
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has launched an investigation into allegations that the confidentiality and integrity of candidates’ personal data may have been compromised by hackers.
The Commission initiated the inquiry following concerns over possible data breaches during examinations.
Preliminary findings indicate that several examination centres may not have implemented adequate technical and organizational measures to safeguard candidates’ personal information, as required under data protection regulations.
Although the incident reportedly affected 379, 997 candidates, the NDPC’s investigation is poised to cover a systemic audit of data processing and third parties.
It will be recalled that JAMB recently admitted that a technical error on its platform affected a total of 379,997 candidates in 157 examination centres across Lagos and the South-East.
Further investigation led to the arrest of at least 20 suspects who are currently in the custody of the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police Force.
Cyber security firm, Kaspersky, has once again warned that sophisticated cybercriminals increasingly target Africa as ransomware and advanced persistent threats (APTs) escalate across the region.
Speaking at the company’s annual Cyber Security Weekend for the Middle East, Turkiye and Africa (META) region, the cybersecurity firm’s Global Research and Analysis Team highlighted growing digital threats affecting African nations.
Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa emerged as hotspots, with Kenya recording one of the highest web threat incident rates at 20.1% in first quarter 2025.
“While ransomware is less prevalent in Africa due to lower levels of digitisation and economic constraints, countries like South Africa and Nigeria are seeing a sharp rise in attacks,” said Sergey Lozhkin, head of META and APAC regions at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky noted a 0.01 percentage point increase in African ransomware cases year-on-year, reaching 0.41%, still below global and Middle Eastern averages, but a troubling sign for the continent’s emerging digital infrastructure.
Experts warned that attackers are refining their tactics, shifting focus to unconventional entry points like IoT devices, smart appliances, and misconfigured hardware.
“As these economies expand digitally, sectors such as manufacturing, finance and government are becoming key targets,” said Lozhkin
The cyber-crime landscape is evolving quickly, fuelled by AI tools and dark web access to large language models, which enable less skilled actors to launch convincing phishing and malware campaigns.
Groups like FunkSec, which uses AI-generated code and a low-cost ransom model, are redefining ransomware operations.
“African organisations face the dual challenge of expanding digital footprints and limited cybersecurity awareness. This makes layered defense strategies, including network segmentation, real-time monitoring and regular staff training, essential,” stated Lozhkin
Kaspersky continues to monitor 25 active APT groups in the META region, including SideWinder and MuddyWater, some of which are known to target African institutions.
To bolster defenses, the firm recommends using tools such as its free Anti-Ransomware Tool for Business and the Kaspersky Next suite for threat visibility and response.
Nigeria recently launched a new joint case team to step up its response to cybercrimes that affect people and businesses at home and abroad.
The ‘Joint Case Team on Cybercrime’ brings together Nigeria’s key justice and security agencies to work as one, making it easier to detect, investigate, and prosecute digital offences.
It is supported by the UK National Crime Agency, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as part of a wider effort to promote international cooperation on cybercrime.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN, minister of justice and attorney general of the federation described the initiative as “a bold and transformative stride in Nigeria’s justice system.”
He said that although Nigeria has a national legal framework to address cyber offences, laws alone are not enough.
Nigeria is among the countries most affected by cybercrime around the world, with increasing financial losses.
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