The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has intensified efforts in raising awareness for protecting cyberspace to promote a secure digital economy in Nigeria.
The director-general of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, made this known during the virtual commemoration of the 2022 Cyber Security Awareness Week which aimed at sharing insights on the numerous careers available in the cyber security space and the influence of NITDA on its effective propagation.
Represented by the agency’s assistant director, cybersecurity department, Mr. Michael Arowosegbe, Abdullahi stated that this year’s event tagged ‘#BeCyberSmart’ is geared towards analysing the issues surrounding the detection of cybercrimes and raising awareness on how individuals, private organisations and government agencies can protect themselves in cyberspace with focus on careers in cybersecurity.
“Cybercriminals have been taking advantage of the digital transformation to exploit human credibility and other technical vulnerabilities in hardware and software ranging from seizing control of infrastructure to stealing sensitive data,” he stated.
The NITDA boss pointed out that during the pandemic, Africans were the target of cybercriminals who use AI technologies in manipulating video and audio recordings in transmitting false information for their attacks.
He further stated that combatting cybercrime, a huge threat to the nation’s security is one of NITDA’s priorities.
“Since the digital economy leverages on the cyberspace, characterised with evolving cyber threat, the need to enable a continuous growth and progress of the digital economy [has made] cyber security”.
While emphasising the importance of cybersecurity to the development of the digital economy, the NITDA boss mentioned that the nation’s digital economy which has raised the bar on security, privacy and trust of stakeholders, is the fundamental enabler of a sustainable digital economy through a threat-free cyberspace.
“Measures must be put in place by all means necessary to gain the confidence of stakeholders who are the enablers of a digital economy and improve the cybersecurity to mitigate all these cyber-attacks via measures such as engaging in massive cybersecurity capacity-building,” he added.
