Nigeria easy target for cyber criminals

Ben Uzor Jr

Nigeria is becoming a huge attraction for cyber criminals, Symantec Corporation said. The steady growth of the economy, and increased bandwidth capacity emanating from the increasing number of submarine cable systems is exposing the country to malicious cyber attacks, Gordon Love, Symantec's regional director for Africa said at a press conference in Lagos. Critical information from the banking, oil and gas, telecommunications industry are currently been migrated online and therefore exposure to sophisticated cyber attacks and threats is inevitable, Love said. 

The $7 billion cyber security company called on the government, banks, oil and gas companies, mobile operators to develop a holistic and robust cyber security strategy to curb the spate of cyber attacks. "Nigeria is a target for the cyber criminals globally. The booming economy, increase in bandwidth and the proliferation of mobile devices are some of the reasons why Nigeria is a such a huge attraction for cyber criminals. In fact, Nigeria has become one of the largest users of smartphones in Africa. Over 20 million malicious threats and attacks were released into the cyberspace in the last twelve months. 

"The threats are here. The problem is that Nigeria does not really appreciate the magnitude of cybercrime and how it can derail an economy." Symantec has ranked Nigeria 59th on its latest Internet security report. Besides, Nigeria ranked 66th position at the same period in 2011. The security report is one of the most comprehensive sources of internet data in the world. Sheldon Hand, Symantec's territory manager for Indian Oceans, West, East and Central Africa (IWECA) reiterated Love's position on the state of cyber security in Nigeria. "Nigeria has become even more vulnerable to attacks.

The country's gradual transition from a cash to an electronic based economy will also expose Nigeria to complex cyber threats, Hand said. Government must be prepared for increased cyber attacks as the country goes 'cashless' and also moves to deepen broadband penetration. Symantec, said Nigeria is going through a revolution in broadband Internet access. As the speed and efficiency of broadband access improves, attacks and threats increase. 

Most developed nations have the larger risk of cyber threats and they also have a quick recovery plan in place, according to industry analysts. In Nigeria however, there is no plans on ground to combat such threats. For us as a nation, the alarming trend calls for a critical approach considering the fact that Nigeria is a developing country adopting new technologies without really assessing the  risks associated with using them.