The National Information Technology Development Agency warns of a possible cyber-attack in Nigeria, advising Nigerians and organisations to be prepared

By Anayo Ezugwu

THE National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, has urged government agencies, private sector and the public to be vigilant and proactive ahead of possible cyber-attacks in 2018.

Isa Pantami, director general, NITDA, said “The agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team, CERRT, in conjunction with other industry stakeholders have intercepted some signals of potential cyber-attacks. This is in their efforts at ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace.

The attacks are targeting banking, health and other systems, power and transportation systems as well as other critical national infrastructure. This is why all need to be vigilant and proactive as far as security is concerned,” he said.

According to Pantami, efforts should be intensified to encrypt personal and sensitive data.  He urged the public to ensure that networks were fully secure by wiring to protect them from being hacked with the use of Wi-Fi security lapses to remotely break into computer systems.

“Where Wi-Fi network is used, ensure that up to date encryption standard is in use and that the Service Set Identifier, SSID, broadcasting function on the wireless router is turned off if not needed. Ensure that free Wi-Fi connections as well as other wireless connections such as Bluetooth or infrared ports are not used unless where necessary.

“Ensure that operating systems and other software applications are regularly updated with the latest patches. Ensure that anti-malware protection is installed on all IT systems as this will help in protecting your organisation’s network from potential attacks through virus-laden software and e-mail attachments. All security software should be adjusted to scan compressed or archived files,” he advised.

He said there should be appropriate guidelines in place for connecting personal devices into the organisation’s network. According to him, the public should ensure the use of credential vaults and multi-factor authentication instead of user passwords. “Ensure that the organisation’s data and critical files are regularly backed up. Above all, ensure that there is an organisation-wide enlightenment campaign, awareness and measures put in place to deal with cyber security threats,” he said.

Pantami stressed that the agency was working with all relevant stakeholders to come up with effective ways of adequately protecting the Nigerian cyberspace. He, however, called on the citizens to support the agency by doing their best at protecting themselves as well as the information and systems under their care.

Cyber-attacks remain an international problem as the internet is, for the most part, a borderless communication tool. Any lasting solution must involve global collaborations. Nevertheless, Nigeria must do its part to combat cyber crime, which is said to be a major threat to a nation’s security.

This is why the government must look at Nigeria’s cyber security readiness and measures being put in place to combat cybercrime. A recent report has shown that Nigerian hackers who were formally known to use less sophisticated hacking techniques have evolved into using RAT’s and Key-loggers.

A recent report by the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, has shown that Nigeria is ranked fourth among African countries that are prepared to fight cybercrime. The union judged its member states on five core pillars including – legal, technical, organisational, capacity building and cooperation. This could be said to be an achieved milestone towards a bigger goal.

The ITU report also showed that an effective response to digital crimes would require a concerted effort to by the government to improve data protection legislation, information security standards, develop robust network security, increase the use of encryption, and other tools of threat protection and detection.

– Feb. 2, 2018 @ 15:05 GMT |