The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, has described as alarming the level of cybercrime activities in the country.
Speaking during a conference organised by the Cyber Security Experts of Nigeria (CSEAN) with the theme: “The Future of Cyber Security in Nigeria’s Digital Transformation” on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, he said the conference was not only timely but necessary, considering the rise in the trends of cybercrimes across the globe and Nigeria in particular.
Bawa, who was represented by the acting Head of Cyber Crimes Section, CCS, EFCC, Lagos Zonal Command, Suleiman Jijiwa, stated that the Commission, as at September 2021, had recorded about 978( Nine Hundred and Seventy-eight) convictions, out of which 80% was connected to cybercrimes and cybercrime-related offences.
According to him, “In recent times, our society is rapidly changing to what we call the “e-society”, where everything is done electronically like e-payment, e-voting, e-banking, e-ticketing and e-registration, amongst other e-services.
“The society is increasingly relying on the internet and other tools to engage in communication and conduct business activities among other benefits. This development has, however, made our e-dealings vulnerable to cyber-attacks and negative consequences of security threats.”
Bawa, who observed that the rise in cybercrime activities in Nigeria was alarming and worrisome, therefore, emphasised the need for rigorous public awareness and enlightenment programmes, adding that, “It is important that conferences of this nature, where stakeholders in cyber security, business owners, academics and law enforcement agencies will share ideas and knowledge on the best practices of combating cyber threats and cybercrimes are held occasionally.”
He also used the occasion to draw the attention of the guests to the concerns of cyber security experts who warned that the financial damages and losses occasioned by cybercrimes would reach $6, 000, 000, 000, 000.00 (Six Trillion Dollars) by the end of this year.
According to him, “Studies have shown that cyber-attacks are among the fastest -growing crimes across the globe. This rise was triggered by the huge financial gains on the side of the perpetrators.
“That is why it is not surprising that the cyber security expert predicted that before the end of 2021, there will be a cyber attack incident in every 11 seconds. This is nearly twice that of the year 2011, which was every 19 seconds”.
In his remarks, the President, CSEAN, Remi Afon, said the cybersecurity threat landscape in the last one year, had evolved rapidly and attacks increased in number and sophistication.
He further stated that “though most data breaches in Nigeria go unreported, the increasing amount of large-scale, well-publicised breaches globally suggest that not only are the number of security breaches going up, they are also increasing in severity as well.”
He, therefore, called for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to stop the growing menace in the country.
Media & Publicity
8 October, 2021