Cybersecurity experts have raised concerns over Nigeria’s ability to respond to possible cyberthreats, questioning the efficiency of the country’s lead advisory team and the management of its dedicated fund.
The Cybercrime Advisory Council, led by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, was set up in 2016 and was tasked with checking rising cybercrimes and formulating the modalities for implementing the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act 2015.
While Nigeria is yet to face a significant cyber attack, experts say the country does not need to wait until that happens before it takes action. They argue that with growing incidents of cybercrimes globally, structures put in place to address such threats need to be functional and funds judiciously used.
Nigeria lost about N250 billion in 2017 and N288 billion in 2018 to cybercrime, a Proshare report said.
A Global Trend
Aligning with global trend, Nigeria enacted the Cybercrimes Act in May 2015, its first law to deal with cyber crimes.
The law gave strength to a 2011 ECOWAS…
