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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has explained that many individuals and corporate organizations fall prey to cyber attacks due to carelessness and poor attention/care to sensitive information.
EFCC said that many organizations are fast digitalizing their operations, thus increasing their presence in digital space, but failed to procure sophisticated firewalls or make provisions against cyber attacks.
EFCC Chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, who was keynote speaker at the International workshop on cyberscurity and digitalization hosted by the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), in Abuja, admitted that digitalization is very important in the 21st century world but must be done with caution and care.
The workshop was organized by the Africa Centre of Excellence on Technology Enhanced Learning (ACETEL), in collaboration with EFCC, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the African Centre of Excellence in Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Applications (ACE-SMIA), and was attended by delegates from different African countries.
The EFCC boss who was represented by Bello Muhammed said that digitalization is a powerful driver for economic growth and development, and uses technology to modernize and improve legacy processes, accelerate efficient workflows, strengthen security, block leakages of revenue, ensure transparency and increase profitability.
He said: “several organizations are quick to embrace digital transformations without putting adequate cybersecurity policies and strategy in place. This is responsible for most of the cyber wees that we are grappling with as it makes it easy for internet fraudsters to perpetrate crimes.
“Notwithstanding the merits of digitization, there are challenges in the area of cybersecurity due to the increase in data breaches, information theft and online scams.
“InterPol cyber threat assessment report on cybercrimes in Africa noted that online scams, digital extortion, business email compromise, ransom-ware and botnets are the most common internet fraud which have led to huge loss of information and revenue.”
He said that Africa has the fastest growing telephone and internet networks in the world, and makes the widest use of mobile banking services, but continues to be the lowest-scoring continent on the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) global cybersecurity index.
NOUN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olufemi Peters, in his remarks, described cybersecurity as the cornerstone of successful digital transformation initiatives, adding that cyber attacks in educational, governmental and industrial settings could pose a big threat to smooth growth and efficient business processes.
He confirmed that criminals exploit the fact that many industrial machines as well as simple devices are increasingly software-controlled and connected to the Internet. “Unfortunately, many of these devices lack regular security updates and are very vulnerable. Cybercriminals try to gain access to the software of these devices so as to conduct Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks.
“The consequences of a successful cyber-attack can be devastating for companies. Espionage, sabotage, and data theft cause serious damage amounting to billions every year with unimaginable consequences for businesses sometimes even leading to bankruptcy.”
Meanwhile, the Director, ACETEL, Prof. Grace Jokthan, in her remarks, said that COVID-19 pandemic further pushed the world online, thereby, accelerating a digital transformation that has been underway for decades.
She said: “During the COVID-19 education took remote form, many employees worked from home, firms adopted digital business models to maintain operations and preserve revenue flows in a COVID-19-induced digital acceleration.”
He encouraged participants to utilize the opportunity to learn work and skills of the future for better work efficiency, safety and economic growth.
Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, in his presentation, decried the devastating effect of cyber crime on the economy of individuals and corporate organizations.
Pantami who was represented by Prof. Sahalu Junaidu said that cyber crimes are growing at a rapid rate with more malware being launched than ever before.
He advocated increased vigilance and caution in online engagements to avoid being duped or scammed.
