The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), in collaboration with the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), has announced the ‘ThinkNnovation Cybersecurity Conference 2025’, which would tackle sophisticated fraud schemes in the financial services sector, including cross-border ransomware attacks on governments and businesses.
In a statement released to the media, FITC stated that the theme for this year’s event, titled “Securing Tomorrow: Cyber Resilience, Intelligent Defense and the Architecture of Trust in a Borderless World’ will commence on October 22nd, 2025, at the Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Chizor Malize, MD/CEO of FITC said, “Cybercrime has become one of the most urgent threats facing Africa’s digital economy. From sophisticated fraud schemes in the financial services sector to cross-border ransomware attacks on governments and businesses, the cost of cyber insecurity is mounting at an alarming pace.”
She said this year’s theme, “Securing Tomorrow: Cyber Resilience, Intelligent Defense and the Architecture of Trust in a Borderless World,” reflects the critical need to strengthen Africa’s cyber defenses as digital transformation accelerates across every sector, she said.
The African digital economy is experiencing an unprecedented surge. Mobile payments, blockchain adoption, digital lending, and cross-border e-commerce are reshaping the financial and commercial landscape. Yet, this rapid expansion has come with staggering risks. According to the African Union’s Cybersecurity Outlook 2024, cybercrime costs the continent an estimated $4 billion annually, with Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa accounting for more than half of the losses.
Criminals are shifting from high-volume attacks to precision-targeted strikes that exploit systemic vulnerabilities. In Nigeria alone, industry reports reveal multi-billion-naira losses linked to phishing, insider collusion, ransomware, and large-scale fraud schemes that directly undermine trust in financial services.
