Following the increasing rate of cybercrime across the globe, Information technology experts have urged bank customers to back up their data and be cautious of free Wi-Fi in order not to fall victim.
They also harp on the need for regular check of bank statements.
The experts who spoke weekend in Lagos at a webinar hosted by First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, however, attributed the 56 per cent of cyber-crimes in the country to social engineering, adding that the global impact of the pandemic has ultimately created a perfect storm for cybercriminals.
Theme “Staying Protected Amidst the Pandemic Chaos”, the webinar was aimed at sensitising individuals and businesses on staying protected in the information age.
FirstBank Chief Information Security Officer, Mr Harrison Nnaji while speaking at the webinar said since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, internet has remained a force, allowing people to stay connected during periods of extended isolation while performing a lot of transactions online.
He said people have increasingly relied on the internet to work, transact and stay entertained.
With the increase use of internet services, Nnaji said the online threats that vulnerable people are exposed to has also increased, stressing that online threat actors continue to take advantage of hysteria created by the pandemic, with a greater focus on exploiting the digital service offering and customer fallibility.
He listed the implications of the escalated risks to include general distrust and apathy, loss of resources for victims, loss of interest in e-payment and financial inclusion for some category of people, increased stress on the victims and threat to life and safety.
Nnaji however, urged customers to know their environment, general information about their bank and never use free USB port or charging cable on public places.
He said, “Be mindful of the software you download on your device, there are lots of malicious software attackers use to harvest victim’s banking credentials. Do not save your sensitive information like Bank Verification Number (BVN), transaction alerts on your cell phone, be observant to any message from the bank to identify irregularities in the message structure.
“As a bank, we continue to take steps to protect you; it takes a joint responsibility to achieve that. FirstBank had invested in human capital, security tools and governance to combat any attempt by the cybercriminals to breach its security posture,” he said.
Chief Strategy Officer & Cyber Risk Services Leader, Deloitte West Africa, Mr Tope Aladenusi, while speaking on the topic, ‘Fraud and Cybercriminal: What You need to know, What You Need to Do’ said Nigeria lost N5.5 trillion to fraud, cybercrimes in the 10 years, adding as at December 2020, Global losses from cybercrime now total over $1 trillion.
He said losses from cybercrimes seemed to be more than that of drug trafficking.
On why cybercrime is so lucrative, he said initial investment is low and returns are infinite, adding that thefts are harder to detect and trace, while regulatory and legislative vacuum still exist.
According to him, there is presently about 3.5 million unfilled cyber security role around the world
He linked the rise in cyber crimes to insufficient skilled resources, deficiency in awareness, rapidly changing technology landscape and weakness in cybersecurity controls.
Also speaking, Cyber Security Evangelist/ Founder, Cybersafe Foundation, Ms Confidence Staveley maintained that human beings easily became victims of hackers due to desire, fear, greed, urgency, panic, exxitment, trust and curiosity.
