The National Security Adviser (NSA), Retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno, on Monday, said that the activities of hackers and cyber criminals was a threat to the economy and security of Nigerians and vital infrastructure connected to the Internet.
Monguno stated this at
the inauguration of a 31-member Cybercrime Advisory Council (CAC) in Abuja.
He said “the
activities of criminals in our cyberspace is threatening our individual and
collective privacy.”
He added that the
situation was partly due to the lack of awareness on cyber security and poor
enforcement of guidelines and minimum standards for security of government
websites.
Monguno said that the
need to take serious action to protect the country’s cyberspace had become a
national security requirement.
He noted that “the
importance of serious action to protect our national cyberspace has increased
tremendously with growth in number of Nigerians connected to the Internet.”
He said that the 2014
annual report of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) showed a 183
per cent increase on e-payment platform in the banking sector.
The security adviser
added that in 2014, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in the
UK estimated the annual cost of cybercrime to Nigeria to about 0.08 per cent,
representing about N100 billion.
“This situation is a
serious challenge to our resolve to take advantage of the enormous
opportunities that the Internet brings,” he said.
He pointed out that
effective management of risk associated with cybercrime required collaboration
between government, the private sector and civil society organisations.
The NSA said
government had deployed ways of fighting cybercrime by reviewing the Evidence
Act so that electronic evidence could be accepted in court.
He said that the
country became the fifth country in Africa and the first in West Africa to
enact the cybercrime law.
He urged members of
the council to employ their experiences to discharge their responsibility to
ensure a more secure cyberspace in the country.
“You have been
nominated by your various organisations as members of this prestigious Council
based on trust, expertise, experience and nobility of character,” he noted.
Inaugurating the
Council, Abubakar Malami, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the
Federation, said that the work of the Council would reinforce and enhance the
implementation of the cybercrime Act in the country.
He said that
considering the nature of cybercrime, the only way to fight it was through
multi-stakeholder, inter-agency, bilateral and multilateral collaboration and
cooperation.
Malami assured members
of the Council of the Federal Government’s continued partnership and
collaboration.
The minister said that
the inauguration of the Council would offer opportunity for stakeholders to
exchange ideas on the issue that was affecting all sectors of the economy.
He added that “today’s
inauguration of the Cybercrime Advisory Council is pivotal and will provide the
platform and opportunity for all stakeholders to collaborate and exchange ideas
on an issue that affects all sectors of the economy.”
The Council is saddled
with the responsibility of formulating and providing general policy guidelines
for the implementation of the Act, among others.
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