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Securing Nigeria’s cyberspace against the antics of online crooks is a prerequisite to achieving Nigeria’s digital economy policy, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has said.
The NITDA’s boss who was speaking at the webinar organised by the agency in collaboration with Spire Solutions on ‘Cyber Hygiene during and after COVID-19’ noted that due to the pandemic and the quest for survival, people and entities have been forced to explore new possibilities online for their daily living. This invariably has encouraged many cyber criminals to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians.
According to Abdullahi, data collected by Google reflected a spike in phishing emails from the commencement of the lockdown. He said in January, Google recorded approximately 149,000 phishing websites, which has increased to 552,000 recently – an increase of about 350% since January.
His words: “The boom in the use of virtual platforms and increase in online activities by individuals, government and businesses led to an exponential increase in cybercrime incidences.
“To survive the antics of cyber criminals during and post COVID-19 pandemic, there is need for strategy. We need to strategize. One of these strategies is to acquire knowledge on how to stay safe in the cyberspace.”
Abdullahi, who was represented by by Director, Information Technology Infrastructure Solution, Dr. Usman Gambo Abdullahi, assured that his agency will be engaging security experts from both private and public institutions to rub minds on effective ways of securing Nigeria’s cyberspace.
NITDA as an agency of government is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace, said Abdullahi while assuring that the agency will live up to expectations by providing Nigerians with advisory measures on surmounting the challenges.
“We carry out periodic awareness programmes to enlighten Nigerians on the dos and don’ts in the cyber space,” he added.
According to the Lead, Computer Response Team, Dr Mohammed Lawan Ahmed, during his presentation on the ‘Dos and Don’ts’to fight COVID-19 related cybercrimes in Nigeria, criminals take advantage of the demand for protective materials like gloves, masks and sanitizers to get people to click on a link under the guise of getting them free of charge or qualifying for palliatives that do nott exist.
He advised members of the public not to be quick to click links, visit websites or give out personal information without confirming its source and authenticity.
