Follow Us on Google
By Simeon Mpamugoh
Certified conflicts resolution expert and member of Halo Code, United Kingdom (UK) Barr.(Dr) Konyere Adiele-Uzoma has called on government and corporations to put in place measures to prevent cyberwarfare and escalation of conflicts caused by digital attacks in a bid to assure stability.
She said this via webinar at the 14th edition of dual membership induction training ceremony with the theme: Multi-stakeholder Approaches To, Cyber peacebuilding: Building Borders, Securing Futures organized by the Institute for Crisis Resolution, Peace building and Conciliation in conjunction with the Institute of Cybersecurity professionals. It took place recently at the Novare Central Training Hall, Wuse Zone 5, Abuja.
Adiele-Uzoma spoke on the topic: “Cybersecurity, Peace, and Global Stability — Risks and Opportunities, urging government and corporations to make conscious efforts in the promotion and reduction of data transfers between business and personal devices. She added that keeping sensitive data on personal devices significantly increases vulnerability to cyberattacks. “The increased number of employees who work remotely has only exacerbated this problem.”, she hinted, “As downloading files from unverified sources can expose your systems and devices to security risks, it is important to only download files from direct sources, and being conscious of suspicious platforms helps lower your device’s susceptibility to malware.”
She canvassed the need to improve password security, noting that passwords were the first line of defense against cyber attacks. “Adapting to incoherent symbols, regular password changes and never making the mistake of writing down or sharing passwords is crucial to providing extra security to sensitive data.
“There is equally a need to update device software”, she stated, “making haste to update devices to the latest software whenever such notifications from networks are received, make our digital space safer.”.
She tasked government to formulate data breach laws and regulatory fines, citing a well-documented example of the enforcement of this law in the data breach case that involved AT&T exposure of their user’s personal information in 2015.
“In line with data breach laws, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States hit AT&T with a $25 million (N36.7 billion) fine for the data breach,”, she recounted, wondering: “had these laws not been in place, AT&T and other like companies, may not have been able to understood the gravity of their responsibilities towards its clients. So there is a need for International treaties and norms to restrict cyber warfare.
“It can come in form of agreements similar to those used in the nuclear or chemical weapons treaties, cyber diplomacy, confidence-building measures, transparency, hotlines, joint cyber exercises and global cooperation- “This would go a long way in achieving the unity of purpose. Sharing threat intelligence between nations can equally boast confidence-building measures and also de-escalate conflict. In addition, the establishment of “cyber hotlines” between states or shared incident response and reports would no doubt boast the war against cybercrime, as well as joint task forces against cybercrime and terrorism especially cross-sector collaboration.
“This could include governments, private companies and civil societies having the commitment to work in unison with cyber security experts to foster innovation and stability. There should be an encouragement of capacity-building plans in less developed nations in order to reduce global digital inequality. Technology and its innovation is certainly a key factor to be harnessed. This is because advances in encryption, quantum security, AI-driven threat detection and zero-trust architectures contribute to making societies safer. AI can be used for early warning systems to detect and prevent attacks before its escalation.
“Cyber security education otherwise known as cyber hygiene is certainly a tool for resilience and stability when effectively used to create widespread digital literacy. Education reduces vulnerabilities and empowers citizens against misinformation and scams. When judiciously used, non-violent power tools allow states to influence others without engaging in taditional warfare.”
Narrowing her paper to Nigeria situation, Adiele-Uzoma stressed that Nigeria has established its own cyber security laws known as the Cybercrime (Prohibition,
Prevention) Amendment Act 2024, pointing out that “this Act creates a framework for combating and prosecuting cybercrimes by addressing issues like unauthorized data alteration, electronic communication interception and fraud. In addition to this core law, Nigeria also has the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023, which governs data privacy, security and incorporates the provisions of previous data protection regulations.”.
She noted in the final analysis that there were risks and opportunities in view of cybersecurity, peace and global stability listing the risks to include: escalation, mistrust and systemic vulnerabilities, which had a high
propensity to destabilize the peace and economies of nations.
In her words: “In spite of all the risks of cybersecurity, there are still multiple opportunities emanating from engaging in it. These opportunities include all the shared norms, secure digital innovations and collaboration in defending nations and their digital infrastructure.The number of detected malware programs slightly decreased in 2024, but the threat is by no means going to simply go away.
“Whilst cybersecurity, peace, and global stability are intricately and intriguingly intermingled, the risks and opportunities are clearly distinct. It is safe to say that as the digital realm has indispensably become a core part of national security, economic resilience and even international diplomacy, governments must have an unwavering commitment to protect us from cybercrime.
“Meanwhile, the concern remains in the public inability to be overwhelmingly convinced that governments are inalienably committed to command their weight on the issue of cybersecurity. Besides the government and the Nigerian public want to see a world where businesses are committed to shoulder the responsibility of creating a pre-continuity plan as one of the most
important steps businesses should take to be able to survive cyber attacks.
“This strategic structuring allows companies to cope with the foundational functions of experiencing emergencies and not being overwhelmed with it. The current digitalization of the business world has made this a necessity rather than a convenient want. So, having a continuity plan can make all the difference between a company’s collapse or ascension after a major cyber attack. It would be most reasonable to conclude that the cooperative action of world leaders remains the most tenable move to maximally strengthen global stability, especially as small businesses and single individuals are unequipped to deal with cybersecurity on a professional global level.”
