At the present ongoing National Conference hosted by the Nigerian Computer Society, NCS in Abuja, Nigeria’s Minister of Communication, Mr Adebayo Shittu disclosed that each year, the country loses about ₦127 billion to cyber crime.
While saying this at the conference tagged: Information Technology for National Safety and Security, he said that the 127 billion Naira loss is equivalent to 0.08 percentage of the nation’s Gross Domestic Products.
While supporting the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and Geographical Information System to handle security challenges in the country such as Boko Haram and Niger Delta Avengers, the minister of communication showed concern that the rapid growth and dependency of Nigerians in digital infrastructure has exposed the nation to serious security challenges.
These were the words of the minister:
Many more Nigerians now have access to Internet facilities. Our citizens now use the enormous opportunities this digital infrastructure brings to work, transact business, campaign, communicate, learn, interact and relax.
Evidence abounds of the growing electronic fraud and threats to digital databases, both private and government. In view of the critical nature of the economy and government activities, it is obvious that protection from different types of cyber and terrorist attacks is required.
Software piracy, identity theft, electronic fraud, online spam, intellectual property theft and malware attacks can all lead to devastating and far reaching consequences. In addition to the activities of hackers and cyber bandits, we know cyberspace is also being exploited to aid radicalisation and violent extremism, especially among the youth.
While addressing this, he made mention of a computer emergency response team set up by the government through the office of the National Information Technology Development Agency and the National Security Adviser. He acknowledged the fact that ICT has been contributing about 10 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, saying that ICT has been able to create over 10 million jobs since the past 10 years.
