By Martin Ekpeke
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu is set to give a keynote at this year’s Cyber Secure Nigeria Conference, scheduled to start tomorrow at the Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Other keynote speakers are Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and John Bray, the Consul General Lagos US Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria.
The 2-day conference, which will have the Governor of Lagos State, His Exc. Akinwumi Ambode as the special guest of honour, will focus on the ‘core’ aspects of cyber security.
The theme for this year’s edition is “Mitigating Cyber Threats in the Digital Age”. The conference, which will draw attendance from the public and private sector, would provide a guideline for corporate and government agencies to mitigate the menace of cyber-attack, which several reports and research findings say grown exponentially in Nigeria.
According to a statement by Remi Afon, the President of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria, organizer of the Cyber Secure Nigeria, cybersecurity has become an essential component of human activity. Thus, it requires a high level of concerns at different levels (both virtual and physical) and by different actors, including governments, private sector, civil society, intergovernmental organisations, among others.
Reports have it that in Nigeria, over N127 billion is lost annually by mostly business organisations and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) of government, translating to 0.08 per cent loss in the `country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Also, according to a 2017International Data Corporation (IDC), 62 per cent of firms are being attacked weekly, with malware becoming more advanced with encrypted ransomware, the security breach impacts on organisations may include loss of reputation, loss of customers, potential financial liabilities, regulatory notification requirements and sometime litigation instigated by victim customers.
Despite these alarming figures, over 85 percent of organisations and government agencies in Nigeria, unfortunately lack cybersecurity plan and strategy. “This is why the “Cyber Secure Nigeria Conference” has become more than necessary. Cyber Secure Nigeria 2018 Conference will focus on how businesses can protect themselves from falling victims and also learn how to mitigate these threats in a digital age through workshops, technical sessions, plenary sessions and breakout session,” Afon said in the statement.
The Cyber Secure Nigeria Conference, which has become an annual event, and is in its fourth year would provide an unparalleled gathering of cyber security Industry giants, government, academia, Information Security Professionals from Nigeria and International Community.
Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN) is a non-profit organisation composed of Information Security Professionals in Nigeria and Diaspora, recognising the need for unified effort and framework across board to tackle Cyber Crime. Cyber Security Experts of Nigeria (CSEAN) was established as an advocacy group to galvanise the movement and development of Information Security in Nigeria.