The federal government says it is partnering with the World Bank to boost cyber security in the country.
Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, said this on Tuesday at the opening of a two-day cybersecurity stakeholder capacity building workshop held in Abuja.
Pantami said cyber threats have become a risk to businesses and organisations worldwide, adding that the collaboration will help combat the menace.
He included that the workshop was important in building the capacity of relevant stakeholders to tackle cybersecurity challenges effectively.
“We shall discuss investing in cybersecurity, increasing awareness of cyber threats and their potential impact on businesses and organisations and the next steps we should all consider, to improve collaboration for the general well-being of our cyber space in Nigeria,” he said.
“In Nigeria, the digital economy is rapidly growing, and with that growth comes the need for heightened cybersecurity measures and robust partnerships like the one we have with the bank.”
The minister also said cyber attack have become a worrisome trend and added that there is a need for an immediate action to protect Nigeria’s infrastructure and digital economy.
“Just recently, Nigeria recorded a total of 12.9 million (12,988,978) cyber-threats, originating from both within and outside Nigeria during the presidential elections and a total of 3.8 million (3,834,244) cyber-attacks, originating from both within and outside Nigeria during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections,” he added.
“Attempts that were recorded included Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and Internet Protocol Spoofing (IPS) attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing.
“These statistics are alarming, and they highlight the need for urgent action to protect our infrastructure and digital economy.
“Hence, the importance of having a robust cybersecurity strategy cannot be overstated, and it is essential to protect our digital infrastructure, businesses, and citizens.”
