CYBERSECURITY AND THE NIGERIAN BANKING SECTOR
By
AqisINTELL
Nigeria moved from a country with zero legislation on cyber security to a country with an extensive law with the enactment of the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc.) Act ("the Act") in 2015.
The Act prescribes punishment for specific actions such as cybersquatting, cyberstalking, identity theft, unlawful access to a computer (popularly called hacking), cyber terrorism, racism and xenophobic crimes.The Act also establishes the Cybercrime Advisory Council which is constituted by representatives of almost all the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The Cybercrime Advisory Council is responsible for policy formulation,while the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is responsible for the enforcement of the Act.
The promulgation of the Act was lauded by the public as it codified illegal activities conducted in the cyberspace. However, it has not been able to assist organisations with required information on how to structure their businesses to prevent cybercrime. Consequently, it is being argued in some quarters that the Act has failed to provide a standard by which organisations would prevent and mitigate cybercrime. For instance, in 2018, in spite of the existence of the Act, it was reported that 60% of Nigerian businesses experienced cyber-attacks and that Nigeria loses N127,000,000,000 (one hundred and twenty- seven billion Naira) annually through cybercrime.
The Act prescribes punishment for specific actions such as cybersquatting, cyberstalking, identity theft, unlawful access to a computer (popularly called hacking), cyber terrorism, racism and xenophobic crimes.The Act also establishes the Cybercrime Advisory Council which is constituted by representatives of almost all the law enforcement agencies in Nigeria. The Cybercrime Advisory Council is responsible for policy formulation,while the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) is responsible for the enforcement of the Act.
The promulgation of the Act was lauded by the public as it codified illegal activities conducted in the cyberspace. However, it has not been able to assist organisations with required information on how to structure their businesses to prevent cybercrime. Consequently, it is being argued in some quarters that the Act has failed to provide a standard by which organisations would prevent and mitigate cybercrime. For instance, in 2018, in spite of the existence of the Act, it was reported that 60% of Nigerian businesses experienced cyber-attacks and that Nigeria loses N127,000,000,000 (one hundred and twenty- seven billion Naira) annually through cybercrime.
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