By Jessica Dogo
Some stakeholders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector have urged the public and private sectors to collaborate and build a secure and resilient digital ecosystem in Nigeria.
The stakeholders made the call on Friday in Abuja at the monthly DevsInGovernment programme organised by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to commemorate Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
The theme of the event was: “Strengthening Cyber Resilience in the Public Sector: Awareness, Skills, and National Initiatives.”
In his welcome address, Babagana Digima, Head, Cybersecurity and Internet Governance (HCIG), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said that security must be embedded into Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.
“We must embed security into the very DNA of our digital services from the first line of coding to the final user experience.
“We must upskill our workforce, institutionalise secure-by-design practices, and foster a culture of cyber awareness at every level of public service.
“Let us also remember that resilience is not the absence of attacks, it is the ability to anticipate, withstand, recover and adapt,” he said.
Digima said the Cyber Resilience Framework for Nigeria’s Communications Sector (CRF-NCS) developed by the NCC was structured around various pillars.
He said the pillars were Governance and Compliance (GC), risk management, cybersecurity posture, incident response, management and resilience, capacity building and development, accordingly.
In her remarks, Sade Dada, Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa, Meta, said that all of Meta platforms use advanced technology and collaborative partnerships to detect, isolate and remove harmful contents.
Dada, who spoke in a panel discussion, said harmful content included disinformation.
“We combine Artificial Intelligence (AI) detection, user education, partnerships with experts to create a more resilient defence against digital threats.
“Just as the immune system learns and adapts to new diseases, our systems have to continuously update to respond to emerging cyber risks.
She said that Meta had met with different law enforcement agencies to discuss about some of the emerging threats and how to combat them.
Mr Abba Moukhtar, a Network and Cyber Security Engineer at National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the agency had advanced digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness through capacity building.
“At NITDA, we actively advance digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness through capacity building, skill development and collaborative effort with internationally certified learning platforms,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
Edited by Uche Anunne
