Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Mrs Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, weekend said the commission believed that proper enlightenment on cybercrime trends was needed to protect the cyberspace from cyber criminals.
Onwuegbuchulam made this observation during it’s 51st edition of Consumer Townhall Meeting held in Warri, Delta state.
The NCC Director who was represented by the NCC Deputy Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, Ismail Adedigba, said without consumers becoming aware of cybercrime trends and making efforts to ensure safe use of connected devices, cyber criminals will continue to make the cyberspace unsafe.
She said the theme of the Townhall Meeting “Mitigating Effects of Cybercrime: The Role of Telecom Consumers,” was chosen for deliberation this year to highlight the threat of cybercrime to all users of Telecom services and to sensitize consumers on the role that need to play in order to be protected from the prying eyes of cybercriminals and hackers.
“However, it is our belief at the NCC that one of the most effective ways to protect Telecom consumers from the effect of Cybercrime is through continues consumer education and awareness such as the one we are having here today.
“Therefore, the Commission is committed to using it’s various outreach programmes to embark on series of awareness campaign with a view to keeping consumers well informed on the the risk being associated with being online, enlightening them on safety measures to take when they use connected devices as simple as feature phone, smart phones and other more sophisticated internet enabled devices,” Onwuegbuchulam said.
Earlier, Adedigba, who also spoke on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba, said the programme was being together for Telecom consumers in the rural and semi-urban areas with the service providers as well as the regulators for a direct face-to-face interactions on Telecom issues affecting the consumers.
Garba said realising that liberalisation of the telecom industry has led to unprecedent increase in the usage and dependence on internet-based solutions and services, NCC established an Internet Industry Code of Practice for internet service providers in the country.
“The internet Code is a regulatory intervention that will not only help to secure the country’s cyber space against imminent threats from cyber attackers but also address such issues as online child protection, privacy and data protection, objectionable content, among others,” Garba said.
Presenting the lead paper, Norah Awe of the Consumer Advocacy Group, talked about reasons why people fall victim of Cybercrime, role of Telecom consumers in curbing the menace of Cybercrime, component of emotional intelligence to guide social life, among others.
The advocacy group recommended that education and campaign against Cybercrime be introduced to Nigeria Tertiary Institutions through laudable outreach programs, as most of the cyber criminals were graduates with knowledge of high technology management.
High point of the programme was an interactive session between the consumers, the regulators and the service providers.
