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Cyber security experts and stakeholders gathered to find profound remedies to to crucial cyber crimes and malicious cyber activities at the 2018 Naija Security Conference, held in Lagos on Friday May 4, 2018.
Participants at the second edition of NaijaSecCon were exposed to insights and discussions around malware analyses; cryptocurrency mining, USB forensics, digital forensics capabilities, programming and different topics around security.
Speakers at the conference urged the Nigerian government and stakeholders to create more awareness on cybersecurity issues, the threats posed to organisations and the economy at large.
The importance of knowledge on cybersecurity has become even more key, as reports project that the devastating effect of cyber-crime will cost about $6trillion by 2021.
This is from an increase of $3 trillion recorded in 2015. It is roughly estimated that about 60 percent of Nigerian companies suffered a form of cyber-attack during the year 2017, many of which went unreported for reasons ranging from, lack of knowledge of such happenings, apathy, fear of losing customers, job security etc.
Muzudeen Kusimo, the founder of Inspaya said there is a level of education required from those that would be making cybersecurity policies in Nigeria.
“This is necessary so that the policies they are making are right and effective. It is good to make policies but if they do not meet the realities on the ground, then the policies become ineffective. For you to apply these policies effectively, it means you have the right context and that is education. So there is a huge gap in terms of awareness,” Kusimo said.
Oluseyi Akindeinde, a speaker at the event, urged the government to do more of educating citizens on the harmful effects of cybercrime and create and implement policies to curb the menace.
“They are trying by building cyber security operation centers, but they need to do more, especially in personnel development. They need to train more, especially the police, the EFFC, about these technologies because a lot of the technologies are advancing everyday, so they need to be constantly updated which is is why for conferences like this they need to attend so that when they get back to their ministries, and parastatals and wherever they work they’ll be able to protect their systems better” Akindeinde told Business Day.
Coming from the United States to be part of NaijaSecCon’18, Charles Nwatu, a cybersecurity advisor said he discovered that there are a lot of talents to be harnessed in Nigeria to assist the government and corporate organisation wall off cyber traitors.
“There is a lot of talent; I have seen the skills set developed. There is an issue of how to capture that talent and refine it. Structure, maturity and development, all those components are part of the experience. As we continue to have more students come into the program to gain more experience doing the actual work within businesses and companies. Then the maturity changes over time.
“The talent is there. We need more education and refining these talents to understand the rules of engagement when it comes to cybersecurity practices. We want to ensure that we operate effectively in the cybersecurity space and not to put anyone in jeopardy,” Nwatu said.
Apart from discussing issues and charting a new course in the world of cyber security, the event was also a means of training university students who are cyber-security savvy and enable them build a career path, as well as intimate them on best practices.
“Our plan is to identify talent, set them in the right career path, so that they can harness their strengths and capabilities, knowledge, and skill set, and make use of them as well” said Romiti Akinyele, the Lead Convener of NaijaSecCon’18.
Jumoke Lawanson and Desmond Okon
