THE Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) has called on the Federal Government to invest more in cyber security to avoid attacks on Information Technology (IT) systems.
The President of NCS, Prof. Adeshina Sodiya, made the call at the opening of a three-day Cyber security Forum and workshop on Thursday in Abuja.
“Some people in government still do not know the level of threats that we have in this country.
“When some IT professionals are mentioning these threats, they feel that they want to use the opportunity to get money.
“But the truth remains that, we need to invest more on cyber security,”he said.
Sodiya said every business had sensitive information and digital equipment such as smart phones, laptops, desktops, servers that need to be protected from unintended or unauthorised access, change or destruction.
He said as companies get exposed to new technologies, their level of exposure to cyber-attacks increases, adding that there was need to protect vulnerable online information.
Sodiya said: “The issue is that, lso many of our young men, mostly due to unemployment are going into cybercrimes. If you know what our youths can do, you would be amazed.
“We also need to truly make cyber security a business. Some of these guys that are experts, we should find a way of harnessing their skills for something that is positive for the nation.
“Governments at all levels should take the issue of IT very seriously. The issue of IT is not something they should play with.”
He said there was need for more experts in cyber security in the country, adding that some of the experts were leaving the country for greener pastures.
“We thank the Ministry of Education and the NUC for the approval of cyber security studies in our universities.
“We now have BSC in cyber security that will also assist in developing experts, ” Sodiya said.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who was represented by Head, Cyber security operations Centre, Mr Ifeanyi Muonagor, said IT education was important as almost everything was now digital.
“While much has been done so far, it’s obvious fact that the war is far from ended.
“The more digital innovations we adopt to make life easier and better, the more the bad actors search for ways.
“It is expedient that we do not relent in the quest for better education in computing, IT and cyber security,” he said.
The Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone Limited, Prof. Mohammed Abubakar, who was represented by the Chief Information Security and Business Continuity Officer, Nasir Shinkafi, said there was need for more awareness on cyber security and more collaboration among the stakeholders.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some representatives of various Ministries, Departments, Agencies, banks and private sector, among others, were in attendance. (NAN)
