Telecom
Cybersafe Foundation Trains NITRA Members on Cybersecurity Awareness & Risks Mitigation
With billions of devices now online, new threats pop-up every second with more people becoming susceptible to attacks. To this end, Cybersafe Foundation, a cyber-security awareness organization in collaboration with the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Institutions (CCISONFI) have trained members of Nigerian Information Technology Reporters Association, NITRA, on cybersecurity awareness and vulnerabilities mitigation antics.
L-R: Bharat Soni – Chief Information Security Officer – Gtco Plc ; Confidence Staveley – Founder, Cybersafe Foundation ; Favour Femi-Oyewole – Group Chief Information Security Officer – Access Bank Plc; Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale – Chief Visionary Officer/ Co-Founder, Digital Encode; Igboa Abumere – Chairman Committee of Chief Information Security Officer of Nigerian Financial Institution (CCISONFI) at a capacity building workshop for ICT journalists in Lagos on Friday.
The training which took place on Friday, December 3, 2021 at Romey Hall, Awolowo Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, was themed: ‘NoGoFallMaga’.
The training was basically designed to raise awareness on emerging cyber security trends, hazards of cyber threats and assaults, as well as how to avoid them.
In their presentations, the experts said that cybersecurity threats and attacks are not going away and that the occurrence could become the next pandemic.
The experts highlighted the dangers of corporations, governments, and individuals refusing to build barriers and walls to protect their platforms, digital tools, and applications from cyber-attacks.
They, in various presentations, exposed participants to various cyber security concerns considered as digital pandemic.
On his part, Femi- Oyewole, Group Chief Information Security Officer, Access Bank, warned that cyber-attacks would be the next post-Covid pandemic saying that it is critical for businesses and people to begin building resilience and backups for their systems, platforms, and apps. She urged organisations to check their ability to bounce back should they suffer any attack.
“If anything happens to you, how quickly can you bounce back? Have you checked your resilience, do you have a backup”, she asked.
According to her, integrity, confidentiality, and availability of a good cybersecurity system must be put in place by organisations as part of their cybersecurity strategies.
Femi-Oyewole continued “You need to put necessary measures in place to quickly detect any breaches and remedy. Vulnerability is any flaw or weakness that can be exploited. There should be counter measures in place to prevent, minimize or report any breaches on time so that corrective measures can be taken up immediately”.
Bharat Soni, Chief Information and Security Officer, Gtco Plc, said organizations should work to mitigate cyber security challenges such as insider fraud, business email compromises, ransomware, and phishing.
He further explained that cyber threats and assaults have increased due to technological advancements, social-economic considerations, and insufficient criminal justice. He listed the most recent cyber security breaches as Twitter compromise 2020, Colonial Ransomware Attack 2021, and Cyber Breach of an Undisclosed Nigerian Bank 2021.
For him, social media has become a challenge to reporting cyber incidents as many people do not check the authenticity of news posted on these social media platforms.
Soni noted that this is why media collaboration is critical to cybersecurity awareness.
CCISONFI Chairman and the Chief Information Security Officer, Stanbic IBTC, Igboa Abumere noted that there is need for awareness despite the cybersecurity regulations. “We are highly regulated but we still need to know how to protect ourselves,” he stated.
Dr. Obadare Peter Adewale, Chief Visionary Officer/ Co-Founder, Digital Encode, enjoined ICT journalists to get equipped with knowledge of trends in the cybersecurity ecosystem. This he said, will empower the journalists to inform the public with accurate and factual cybersecurity information in their reportage.
The capacity building workshop also had in attendance Founder, Cybersafe Foundation, Confidence Staveley with over 30 ICT journalists and media entrepreneurs.
National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), a telecoms subscriber body, has warned Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) not accede to demands by telecommunications companies in the country to hike tariff, insisting that such increase would unleash further hardships on its members.
Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, NATCOMS said in statement that the group in a recent emergency meeting over the planned tariff hike of telecommunication services, unanimously voted against any tariff hike.
Ogunbanjo, said telecoms services are taxable services under the Value Added Tax Act.
The Act was amended in 2019 by the Finance Act of that year to raise the tax rate from five per cent to 7.5per cent which was 50per cent increment and the increment has been borne by the consumers of rateable telecom services.
“That increment brought about untold hardship to our members many of who have been forced to cut back on their telecom requirements.
“As if that was not bad enough, the Federal Government got the National Assembly to enact the Finance Act of 2020. Section 37 of the Act amended Section 21 of the Customs, Excise Tariff etc. (Consolidation) Act by imposing an excise duty charge on Telecommunication Services. The then president, President Muhammadu Buhari by an order prescribed five per cent as the rate of the excise duty charge, chargeable for telecommunication services. The additional tax burden was greeted with public outcry and this association, at the prompting of our members, challenged the excise duty charge in court, in the case of Registered Trustees of National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) V MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and Others – Suit No: FHC/L/ CS / 189) 2023 on the ground of double taxation which is illegal and unconstitutional.
NCC and other Federal Bodies are parties to the suit and the Federal Government as represented by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) entered an appearance and filed processes opposing the suit. The case is now pending before Hon. Justice Aluko, sitting at the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, and the case is slated to come up in the court on the 13th March, 2025,” Ogunbanjo said.
Mafab Communications, a Nigerian telecommunications company that acquired a 5G license in 2021, is set to begin operations by the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to Adebayo Onigbanjo, chief operating officer of the company.
Onigbanjo who shared this update with TechCabal, this launch will mark the first time Mafab’s services will be available commercially, nearly three years after the company entered the 5G market.
The company plans to roll out its 5G services with 102 operational sites located in Kano and Abuja.
Subscribers will need to purchase routers to access the network. Mafab is also working with multiple vendors to develop these sites in phases as part of its strategy for deployment.
Mafab Communications obtained its 5G license on the same day as MTN.
However, while MTN launched its 5G services within eight months, Mafab, being a newer entrant, experienced delays in deploying its network due to insufficient telecom infrastructure.
These challenges were further exacerbated by the company’s delay in receiving its Unified Access Service License (UASL) and numbering plan, which was only granted in July 2022.
This situation led Mafab to seek an extension from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), postponing its initial rollout deadline to January 2023.
Following its launch event in January 2023, the company began promoting the sale of 5G routers on its website.
However, buyers quickly discovered that they could not activate the service, as uncovered by TechCabal.
Consequently, the sale of these routers has been suspended while the company focuses on completing its infrastructure buildout.
Despite the early stage of the 5G market in Nigeria, these delays have put Mafab at a disadvantage, leaving it to catch up with competitors like MTN and Airtel, particularly in Lagos, the country’s bustling commercial hub where most 5G subscribers are currently concentrated.
Although Mafab is actively working on its Lagos sites, the company has yet to announce when services will officially launch in the city.
According to Onigbanjo, foreign exchange (FX) fluctuations have posed a significant challenge, leading to higher rollout costs than initially projected—a difficulty faced by many telecom operators.
Since its commercial introduction in August 2022, Nigeria’s 5G market has experienced steady growth, spearheaded by MTN Nigeria.
By October 2024, 5G services accounted for 2.33% of the nation’s internet subscribers, with MTN Nigeria commanding a 79% market share and Airtel Africa holding roughly 20%.
Mafab’s anticipated rollout in Q1 is expected to further drive 5G adoption, particularly in cities beyond Lagos and Abuja.
The company has prioritized building robust infrastructure and extending its coverage in Kano and Abuja to support broader access to 5G services.
According to Onigbanjo, this includes developing a Radio Access Network (RAN), transport systems, and intelligent networks designed to connect various user devices—ranging from smartphones to IoT gadgets—to the company’s core telecom network.
Telecommunication companies in Nigeria are lobbying their regulator for permission to double price tariffs to weather harsh economic conditions and inflation running near a three-decade high.
“We’ve put forward requests of approximately a 100% increase” to the regulator, Karl Toriola, chief executive officer of MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, told Lagos-based Arise TV.
“There’s no way that the industry could continue to sustain itself and provide the required quality of service under the present structure,” he said.
The industry has been stepping up efforts for permission to relax pricing rules that have been in place for 11 years, amid surging annual inflation that touched 34.6% in November, and the steep depreciation of the naira against the dollar.
If the pricing issue is resolved, Toriola is optimistic 2025 will be a good year for operators.
The unit of MTN Group Ltd. plans to grow voice and data revenue this year by increasing coverage of rural areas as well as 5G broadband penetration, he said.
Subscriber Group Rejects Telcos Push for Tariff Hike
Mafab Communications to Roll out 5G Services in Kano and Abuja this Quarter
Telcos Firms Seek 100 Percent Tariff Hike to Survive Economy
Agu, Space Engineer Urges NASRDA to Develop Nigeria’s Space Competence
Binance Hits 250m Users, Eyes for Billion in 2025
Nigeria Risks Missing out on $1.2 Trillion AI Opportunity- NigComSat
Firm Sues NIMC, Others On Digital Rights Breach Allegations
Ecobank Sends Important Message to Customers Over Service Disruptions
MTN Nigeria Renews Spectrum Lease Agreement with NTEL
NERC Discloses $5.7 Million Debt Owed by International Customers for Q3 2024 Electricity Supply
Uncategorized1 day agoDecemberIssaVybe: FirstBank Sponsors ‘The Cavemen Concert’, Thrills Audience
Telecom1 day agoSubscribers Say Telcos Cannot Hike Tariff Business without Consultation
Uncategorized1 day agoCorporate Blackmailers as Tinubu’s Enemies
E-Financial2 days agoCBN, SEC Approve FCMB Group’s N147bn Rights Offer
News2 days agoCSCS Harps on the Role of Tech in Boosting Capital Market Activities
News1 day agoLassa Fever, Others Claimed 952 Lives in 2024 – NCDC
News1 day ago90 Percent of Workers to Pay Lower Taxes in Tax Reforms- PACFTR
Telecom19 hours agoTelcos Threaten to Shut Down Services in Some Parts of Nigeria over Tariff