Is Nigeria Ready For Cyberwar?
It is on record that Nigeria has expressed willingness to fight cybercrime. However, the big question remains if it is ready to run a transparent committee and cybersecurity scheme. One of Nigerians’ most unique approaches to fighting cybercrime is enacting the Cybercrimes Act in 2015, setting up a 31-member National Cybersecurity Advisory Council and the CBN’s Cyber Security Funds.
As good as enacting laws and setting up committees are, due diligence, transparency, and non-complacency in the fight against cybercrime is crucial. The above stated necessitated the question; what is the readiness of Nigeria to fight cybercrime?
Through this article, I will leverage a few statistics to respond to the question above. Before making progress, let’s take a look at a few statistics about Nigeria’s cybercrime space. Institute for Security Studies, in their research, said the wake of COVID-19 restriction and lockdown led to an increase in cybercrime. It called it to bait for cybercriminals to defraud customers and employees.
Nigeria Cybercrimes Statistics
Before the Covid-19, as far as 2017 and 2018, Nigeria Commercial Banks recorded #2.37B and #15B ($39m), a 537% increase to 2017, respectively, from electronic fraud. About 17,600 bank customers were said to have lost #1.9B to cybercrime in 2018.
Nigeria’s Customer Awareness and Financial Enlightenment Initiative projected that cybercrime within and outside to be $6T. Deloitte Nigeria, through a report, disclosed that there would be a spike in phishing attacks, malware spam, and ransomware. Having seen the lucrativeness of cybercrime in the past and the coming years, let’s have a look at the Nigerian government’s readiness to confront cybercrime.
Nigeria readiness to fighting cybercrime
Nigeria has records of enacting the right laws but a lousy record of lack of due diligence and transparency. One of Nigeria’s first measures to enact a cyber security-based law is the Cybercrimes Acts 2015. The 43-page document gave strength to a 2011 ECOWAS protocol on fighting cybercrime and the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy, adopted in February of the same year.
As contained, the legislation empowers the National Security Adviser and the Attorney General of the Federation to enforce its provision and establish a guide to fund its operations. It mandated the government to set up a multi-agency cybercrime advisory council and National Cyber Security Fund, initiated by the CBN and administered by the NSA.
Following the mandate, the Buhari-led administration, on April 19, 2018, moved to set up a 31-member council. The Council named; National Cybersecurity Advisory Council is tasked with formulating the modalities for implementing the Cybercrimes Act 2015. The Council comprises EFCC, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Ministry of Justices, and others as shown by Premium Times;
As on the first move, the CBN, on July 4, 2018, set up the Cyber Security Fund while instructing relevant organizations to set aside the required levy from online transactions made by Nigerians for the Act funding.
The Big Question
Thanks to the Cybercrimes Act 2015, which put Nigeria on the radar of cyber security-conscious nations. By enacting the Cybercrimes Act 2015, Nigeria became the fifth African country and the first West African country to enact a cybercrime law. However, the big question is if the Act will be transparent and well implemented.
To gain more insight into why the above question is necessary, sources highlighted severe constraints, including highjacking, complacency, and lack of transparency in the Act’s formulation. According to Premium Times, undisclosed sources said;
“We should have met at least 20 times if we are to go by the stipulations of the Act, but the NSA rarely calls for meetings. His excuse is that he is always busy. But we know that with the emerging cyber threats world over, this is the right time for the council to be fully functional and discharge its roles, but this is not so,’’
He also added;
‘’For now, the NSA runs a ‘one-man show’ in which council members are now mere onlookers,” the source said. “The main reason these members were selected from various establishments was to help the NSA implement the strategy as clearly spelt out in the Act and the relevant projects to help Nigeria address cyber threats and related crimes. But now, the council is dormant and has failed to serve the purpose for which it was set up. We don’t meet regularly to agree on anything.’’
According to Olusola Teniola, a member of the council who represents the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON);
“Cybersecurity is very vast and complex. In many instances, it is not something you can subsume under ONSA (Office of the NSA) because ONSA, for instance, doesn’t have its staff. It takes staff from security and intelligence agencies. You cannot enhance cybersecurity by ad-hoc staff. You need a consistent and sustainable workforce that can champion cybersecurity,’’
The above sources summarise why it is necessary to inquire if the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, led Cybercrime Advisory Council, is ready to tackle and implement cybercrime.