Stakeholders Call For Collaborative Efforts To Curb Rising Cyber-attacks

Cybersecurity stakeholders under the auspices of the Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria (ISSAN), have made case for robust collaboration and coordinated efforts by all stakeholders including the government to stem the rising wave of cyber threats in the nation’s payment system platforms

Also, speakers and Panelists at the Quarter 1, 2022 ISSAN Cybersecurity Conference with the theme: “Payment Systems Platform Security” in Lagos, called for an urgent review of the National Cybersecurity Protection Act of 2015 to meet with current realities.President of ISSAN, Dr David Isiavwe, who spoke on behalf of the association, stated that as the Covid-19 pandemic is gradually easing out, organizations are now settling for a hybrid way of working and providing services for customers while being mindful of the enlarged cyber threat.
He noted that new forms of attacks are being contrived and implemented by criminals through various means on individuals, nation-states and corporate bodies, stressing that cyber security gatekeepers are not spared as large sums of money are usually at risk in every successful attack.

According to him, “What we see on the horizon is that Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks are becoming alarming; Ransomware attacks are not relenting. There are more phishing and password targeted attacks. Denial of Service (DoS) and Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks remain a growing problem. The loss globally is colossal. In Africa, Nigeria is expected to lead in terms of estimated loss due to our size. There is, therefore, the urgent need to brainstorm on how to keep payment systems platforms safer,” he said.

For a way forward, Dr Isiavwe who is also a General Manager at Ecobank Nigeria emphasized that banks and organizations need to be proactive, keep customers educated and updated on new threats and trends in the cyberspace, automate and continuously monitor their systems and infrastructure, and also place a high premium on artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and data analytics.

In his keynote address, Director, Payment System Management Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Musa Jimoh commended the activities of ISSAN on enhancing a safer and secured payment ecosystem, stressing that the apex bank is committed to initiatives that would promote and enhance payment system security to check cyber fraud in the nation’s financial system. He maintained that the financial sector cannot afford to fail as the payment system is vital to the functioning of any economic system.

According to him, “Data security is important for customers and a tool for financial inclusion. Banks are the custodian of customers’ information based on trust and should therefore put structures in place to prevent breaches and information theft. They should not compromise customers’ credentials as it would give cybercriminals access to defraud them.”