Nigeria has about 85 million internet users, according to the study and statistics of CIA Country Factbook. Mobile cellular subscriptions total somewhat more than 184 million, or around 88 per 100 Nigerians.
According to Deloitte, a renowned international business operations and consultation organization, Nigeria, just like an entire globe, would “experience increasing cyber-attacks and cybersecurity solutions.”
The typical Nigerian, like residents all around the world, is used to handing up personal information in return for digital services. The issue in Nigeria is that there are no government mandates in place to prevent and disclose abuse or breach of all of that data.
Nigeria is among the most susceptible cyber-attack nations around the globe. In 2018, over 60% of Nigerian companies were attacked.
In addition to that, the censorship that is implemented by the country’s authorities and refers to taking control of the internet is one of the key issues. In reaction to spreading incorrect and inaccurate online material, Freedom House said that after the elections the Nigerian government explored laws to “restrict internet communication.”
Cyber incidents in Nigeria
Nigeria as already implied is one of the most cyber-attacked countries around the world. To say it more specifically, the country in the year of 2016 in regards to cyber attacks was in the 16th place around the world, while in 2020 Nigeria will become the globe’s 2nd most cyber assaulted country. Roughly 60% of Nigerian companies faced a cybersecurity attack in 2018 and Nigeria spent over $270 million. Nigerian companies are therefore assaulted, but nobody reports what has been taken. Because of that many of the people who entrusted their funds to financial companies, including FX brokers, are worried about their funds. They are now searching for a Videforex Broker review, in order to find out more information about the company’s security. The review allows them to get more about the company, the brokerage’s reliability. Through that, individuals can be calmer and assured that their funds are safe and the company’s security system works quite well.
Although Nigerian corporations spent substantial cash on cyber safety, they allegedly lost “billions” of naira to cyber assaults in 2018. Even the NCC regretted that cyber threats are one of the telecoms industry’s worst challenges.
However, the problem is that Nigerian companies are spending much more money, in line with the average world expenditure per GDP.
So what is the efficiency of money spending?
Correctly spending the money would involve collecting information on the most common successful cyber assaults and designing a plan that is particular to the national or industry.
For instance, if phishing attacks – false emails in trash mailboxes – cause massive losses, low-cost, focused training might be the greatest answer. If some industries experience complicated attacks, they must have profound cyber competencies and invest in the appropriate technologies. It is difficult to combat them without the data on the kinds of violations.
If firms are not reporting violations, who suffers?
The 2019 National Informatics Development Agency (NITDA) Nigeria Data Protection Regulation does not force firms to notify infringements of data.
Nigerian cyber-security strategies are undermined by the policy. This implies that both consumers and other businesses cannot react without public information about violations.
If a hacker takes your financial information, they are able to use your identity to target you, your coworkers, or even family members. When firms are forced to admit that they have lost your information, you may defend yourself by modifying your passwords and notifying the appropriate individuals of any suspected fraud or impersonation.
Although corporations are concerned that disclosing events would harm their image, publicizing occurrences serves as a deterrent to improper cyber activities.
Nigerian businesses cannot learn from the errors of their counterparts unless data breaches are reported. This has resulted in a disparity in cyber readiness across segments of the country’s economy. While the marine, telecommunications, and consumer products industries continue to suffer with phishing assaults, the banking and finance business has made huge progress. If breaches are notified, the NITDA can evaluate them, identify commonalities, and publicly disseminate the results. That’s how the process operates in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Cybersecurity – imperative for businesses to survive
Only a few years ago, huge corporations had effective cybersecurity procedures because they believed they were apparent to hackers. Many SMEs did not prioritize cybersecurity since they believed they had little to no target system and awareness. Nevertheless, recent events have demonstrated that this is not the case, since SMEs are constantly targeted.
Several SMEs also have insufficient capacity to identify, prevent, or respond adequately to these threats. This tendency is uncertain to reverse, as hackers already regard many SMEs as easier targets because of their refusal to spend money on protection. In 2021, it is expected that many more SMEs would upgrade their cybersecurity strategies and boost their security budgets in order to better cyber resilience and safety.
Nigerians also anticipate an uptick in the frequency of security experts in 2021, with them transitioning from the shadows to trustworthy partners from strategy to implementation. Organizations may even have security specialists on their board of directors and CEOs.
More regulations towards cybersecurity in Nigeria
Many Nigerian firms have adopted the Nigerian Data Privacy Regulation during the last two years. As the frequency of assaults rises and information leaks and hacks occur, Nigerians may expect increasingly strict cybersecurity legislation and implementation of security precautions in place by firms, particularly those who are in data-sensitive industries.
There was a lot of discussion over the Social Media Bill in 2020. The authorities investigated many options to control social media, mostly owing to disinformation concerns, particularly during the #EndSARS demonstrations. While this was met with strong opposition, analysts anticipate greater discussion on social media rules, as well as some form of government control to meet the many issues.