Banks Shell Out N200Bn to Prevent Cyber Attacks in Nigeria

Banks in Nigeria spent some N200 billion preventing various forms of cyber attacks on their operations in the country in 2019, according to Nigeria Computer Society (NCS).

NCS also said that two major attacks confronted the financial sector last year, were Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS), and Social Engineering.

DDoS attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic, while Social Engineering attacks are the use of deception to manipulate individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes.

Prof. Adesina Sodiya, president of NCS, said more efforts must be harnessed locally, to curb the growing menace of cyber attacks in Nigeria.

Globally, the number of DDoS attacks increased by 84 per cent in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 compared to Q4 2018, according to research from Kaspersky Lab.

Sodiya said although multiple attacks were launched on the banks, but hid their identities because of the sensitive nature of bank operations, noting that the financial systems have become more proactive and sophisticated in tackling some of these challenges.

“Today, individuals, governments and corporate organisations are losing huge sums of money and property as a result of cyberattacks.

“Threats on the landscape continue to change rapidly, and attacks are increasing in might and sophistication. It is also believed that this trend will continue in the nearest future. Consequently, concerted effort is needed to enhance cyber security in Nigeria,” he said.