Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi have cautioned Nigerians to be watchful and conscious of their Cyber security even at these times.
The DG, while delivering his speech at the 2020 National Cyber Security Awareness Virtual Summit said,
“If we connect to the internet we have the responsibility to protect it which is why the objective of the summit is to empower Nigerians to own their role in protecting their own part of cyberspace.
“If we all do our part, implementing stronger security practices, raising community awareness, educating vulnerable ones, or training employees our interconnected world will be safer and more resilient for all of us.”
Abdullahi revealed that, “It is part of the Agency’s unprecedented effort to promote safe online behaviour and practices because more and more Nigerians are using new technologies and spending more time online. “Our growing dependence on technology, coupled with the increasing threat of cyber attacks, demands greater security in our online world. We are sharing simple, easy-to-understand resources and tips to help you ensure your safety and security online. The campaign involves sharing resources to help you with the skills you need to make more informed decisions when using the Internet, he added.
“Cybercriminal activities are counterproductive to our efforts to create national economic prosperity through exploiting digital economy. Developing a digital economy hinges on trust and safer cyberspace, therefore, at NITDA we embarked on this annual campaign to build trust in our journey to a digital Nigeria”, he added.
The summit is in commemoration with the global cyber Security Awareness Month. It targets four strata of the society: public organizations, parents and children, youth, and corporate organizations. The contents are focused on sensitizing Nigerians to stay safe and avoid criminality while online.
The activities lined up for the purpose of this awareness are: October Month Cyber security campaign; Capacity Building on Cyber security for Legislative Officers; Cyber security Sensitization Summit; Nationwide Cyber security Awareness Campaign; and a Webinar Series.
The summit which is expected to run for 4 days will cater for the following sub themes for each day; securing information assets in the digital economy; Cybersecurity Career Opportunities: Midwifing Youth Participation in Cyberspace; Child Online Protection: Creating a Cyber-secure Home for Children and Parents; and Protecting Your Online Presence while executing your mandate in the Digital Economy Era.
Mr Hakeem Ajijola while presenting a paper on the topic Cyber security response to COVID – 19 pandemic advised that all users be it on private or government online platforms must practice exceptional cyber-hygiene, change passwords; encrypt all data set, monitor and backup websites periodically.
Rev. Sunday Folayan who presented a paper on industry Expectation of Government action on Policy, Strategy and Enforcement stressed the importance of keeping records of cyber attacks so to be able to takle them. He called on Government to enforce standards mails as some Government Agency continues to use Yahoo mail and Gmail.
NITDA has said that a secure cyberspace is a criterion to a robust Digital Economy. And when there is a cyber attack Government websites are potential targets. That is why the Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT) acidulously working to forestall that since Cyber security is more about risk management.