By Fatima Shaba Musa

‎Dr Ibrahim Waziri, a cybersecurity expert has advocated African-focused threat intelligence tools, stronger incident response coordination and increased investment in local technology to tackle evolving cyber threats across African.

Waziri, who is also the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Bitsfund, made the call in an interview with theNews Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

‎He said that the adoption of foreign threat intelligence platforms sometimes failed to address threats specific to Nigeria and other African countries.

‎He advocated a unified and centralised threat intelligence platform that would serve African markets, adding that local solutions would provide better understanding of emerging cyber threats.

‎”We need to have a unified, centralised threat intelligence platform that serves African markets, not just Nigeria,” he said.

‎He also said that there was need for better coordination among stakeholders in responding to cyber incidents, including data breaches and ransomware attacks.

‎According to him, incident response should involve proper threat assessment, investigation, coordinated action and post-incident reviews to prevent similar occurrences.

‎”When an incident happens, how do we handle it? How do we go through the triage? Who are the stakeholders that need to be part of the response, including the post-mortem?” he queried.

‎The Bitsfund founder said Nigeria needed to move beyond investing primarily in digital services to developing indigenous cybersecurity tools and technologies.

‎He said that local technology companies should be supported to develop solutions capable of identifying vulnerabilities and addressing security challenges peculiar to the country’s digital environment.

‎Waziri also called for increased investment in local artificial intelligence development, saying African countries should move beyond being consumers of foreign technologies.

‎”Right now, when we say anything AI, we are just consumers. It is time for us to have frontier models that are ours, that understand us,” he said.

‎He observed that eliminating cybercrime was unrealistic, stressing that the focus should be on strengthening security systems and ensuring organisations remained ahead of potential attackers.

‎”There is nothing like getting rid of cyber criminals. We just have to manage it,” he said.

‎On Nigeria’s cybersecurity priorities, Waziri said threats differed across organisations, making it necessary to develop standardised approaches that would enable institutions to identify and prioritise their specific vulnerabilities.

‎He explained that cybersecurity solutions should not be treated as one-size-fits-all, as different organisations faced different risks depending on their operations and digital infrastructure.

‎He urged the government to provide more support for local technology startups, while encouraging entrepreneurs to focus on building sustainable businesses and developing solutions for local challenges.

‎From the government perspective, he said, there would be the need to support more startups.

‎He also advised startups to remain committed to solving local problems rather than rushing to expand into other markets before establishing sustainable solutions.

‎Waziri maintained that Nigeria’s growing digital investments should be matched with stronger investments in cybersecurity, particularly in developing local expertise, technologies and response capabilities. (NAN)

Edited by Uche Anunne