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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that cyberattacks on telecommunications networks pose a challenge to national security, as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to make cyber threats more sophisticated and difficult to detect.
NCC Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) and Chief Executive Officer Dr Aminu Maida stated this while delivering a keynote address at the second edition of the International Cybersecurity Conference in Abuja on Tuesday.
Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Mr Abraham Oshadami, while speaking on the theme, “Cyber resilience in the age of AI: defending minds, networks, and nations,” said the growing use of AI by cybercriminals had changed the nature, speed and scale of cyberattacks, making it necessary for Nigeria to strengthen its digital defences.
He identified AI-powered phishing, automated attacks on login credentials, deepfake technology and self-modifying malware as emerging threats capable of undermining the security of telecommunications networks and the wider digital economy.
According to him, telecommunications infrastructure has become critical to national development, as financial transactions, personal communications, public services and business operations increasingly depend on reliable and secure networks.
The EVC warned that successful attacks on these systems could extend beyond service disruptions to affect financial stability, defence, public administration and other essential sectors of the economy.
He said the NCC had established a Computer Security Incident Response Team for the communications sector to strengthen threat monitoring, facilitate real-time intelligence sharing and support the reporting of cybersecurity incidents.
The NCC boss added that the commission had also developed a cybersecurity resilience framework to help telecommunications operators improve their preparedness for attacks and their capacity to recover from disruptions.
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Maida stressed the need for operators to adopt stronger security measures, including zero-trust architecture, which requires continuous verification of users and devices rather than automatically trusting access requests.
He also called for regular assessment of artificial intelligence and machine-learning systems to identify possible backdoors, data poisoning and unauthorised changes that could expose networks to attacks.
The EVC said cybersecurity efforts must go beyond technology to address the human factor, noting that public awareness and digital literacy were necessary to protect individuals and organisations from AI-assisted deception.
He urged stronger cooperation among regulators, telecommunications operators, financial institutions, security agencies and international partners, saying cyber threats required a coordinated response.
According to him, “Artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered the speed, scale and sophistication of cyber warfare. We are witnessing a shift from attacks that primarily target systems to those that increasingly exploit human behaviour, using AI-driven phishing, deepfakes and automated credential attacks.
“Telecommunications networks are central to our economy and national life. Our digital transactions, conversations, public services and enterprise operations depend on these networks. A successful cyberattack can therefore have consequences that go beyond connectivity, potentially affecting financial services, defence and civil governance.
“We must strengthen our defences through continuous threat monitoring, real-time intelligence sharing and effective incident reporting. Telecommunications operators must also embrace zero-trust security, ensuring that access is verified rather than automatically trusted.
“Cyber resilience must include the people who use our networks. Public awareness and digital literacy are essential because cybercriminals increasingly exploit trust, emotions and human behaviour. We must build a human firewall alongside our technical defences.
“Ultimately, cybersecurity cannot be the responsibility of one institution alone. Regulators, operators, financial institutions, security agencies and international partners must work together to anticipate threats, respond quickly and protect our digital ecosystem. Cyber defence is a collective defence.”
