Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), an arm of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has urged all Ministries, Departments and Agencies to take extra security precautions by hardening their cyber defenses and performing due diligence in identifying indicators of malicious activity that could affect their networks, assets and critical national infrastructure.
This call follows Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where cyberattacks on businesses and government organizations have grown, with the possibility of spillover cyberattacks against non-primary targets becoming far more frequent.
CERRT believes that there is a greater danger for countries doing business in or with these countries’ governments, as well as businesses or countries that apply sanctions or are believed to intervene.
To prevent attacks, CERRT, therefore, advises MDAs to follow these steps:
- Carry out checks for possible vulnerabilities on their systems and implement appropriate remediations.
- Always ensure software’s are updated.
- Carry out regular patches on all systems.
- Secure and monitor remote desktop protocol and other risky services.
- Carry out awareness on cyber security best practices to sensitized employees and users of services.
Additionally, Organizations are invited to sign up for NITDA’s free web protection service, which will provide MDAs’ administrators with detailed information about the vulnerability of their web services.
For further information and enquiries, contact the Head, NITDA-CERRT on cerrt@nitda.gov.ng