On the 29th of January 2018, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), private sector and the public to be vigilant and proactive ahead of possible cyber-attacks in 2018. In the statement issued by Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the cyber-attacks would be targeted at the banking, health, power systems and critical national infrastructures. The full report can be obtained on NITDA’s website, https://nitda.gov.ng/2018/01/29/nitda-issues-guidance-on-combating-cyber-security-threats/
The Agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), in conjunction with other industry stakeholders were reported to have intercepted some signals of potential cyber-attacks.
The statement by Dr. Pantami gave precautionary measures to be adopted, to ensure any sensitive or personal data is encrypted; computer operating systems and applications are regularly patched, use of multi-factor authentication, etc.
The public was advised to be cautious of free Wi-Fi connections as these are potential avenues for hackers to strike.
Organisations were advised to have effective IT Security policies, conduct organization-wide enlightenment campaigns, conduct awareness and put measures in place to safeguard against cyber security threats, protect their networks from potential attacks via virus-laden software and email attachments, ensure regular backup of organisation’s data and critical files, etc.
Dr. Pantami whilst highlighting measures that can protect an individual and/or organisation’s IT infrastructure stressed that NITDA was working with all relevant stakeholders to come up with effective ways of adequately protecting the Nigerian cyberspace. He, however, called on the citizens to support the Agency by doing their best at protecting themselves as well as the information and systems under their care.
SOURCE: https://nitda.gov.ng/2018/01/29/nitda-issues-guidance-on-combating-cyber-security-threats/
