Participants at this year’s National CyberSecurity Awareness Month, organized by United States Consulate in partnership with International Centre for Leadership Development Nigeria, believes that globally, Cyber risk is now firmly at the top of the international agenda as high-profile breaches raise fears that hack attacks and other security failures could endanger the global economy.

Mr. John F. Bray, US Consul General, Speaking at the event said that the Cybersecurity Awareness is a collaborative effort between government and industry to encourage individuals to protect their computer and that the awareness is on its 14th yea.r
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He noted, that the Department of Homeland Security created this ongoing Cybersecurity awareness campaign, called Stop.Think.Connect, which is a national public awareness campaign designed to raise awareness of cybersecurity and to be more vigilant about practicing safe online habits.

He added that, with the number of internet users growing daily, law enforcement officials expect the number of victims to increase as well as the value of their losses

Mr.Bray stated that, Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that the global community will lose more than $6 trillion annually by 2021 to cybercrime.

“Without good cybersecurity in place, experts estimate that nearly half of the entire G-20 economy will be lost to cybercriminals.

“The “Internet of Things (IoT)” will continue to increase the amount of crimes we see.

“Internet of Things” is the technology used in Bluetooth and Wifi devices in homes (i.e. refrigerators, dishwashers, and microwaves).

“These devices can be hacked and used in a malicious manner to cause serious harm.

‘Cyber Awareness is everyone’s responsibility.

“International cooperation and information sharing are key to the successful mitigation of cyber-attacks” He stated.

Mr. Rolland Avedician, Legal Attache, United States Consulate, says mobile banking is now target for cyber criminals.

Speaking on the topic “Cybercrime in West Africa” Avedician, said, “The World Wide Web (WWW) has allowed criminals to operate across borders and that these criminals are between the ages gap of 19 to 29, a statistic from FBI and Interpol on West Africa.

“These cyber criminals in West Africa are operating in an organised and well sophisticated way due to the fact that they take classes and discuss what the law enforcement agencies are doing to checkmate them.

“They are now looking for the most vulnerable targets and mobile banking is now the target of cyber criminals.

“These criminals in West Africa are becoming more knowledgeable with their mobile device to perpetuate the crime,” he stated.

Mr Olatunji Igbalajobi, Chief Operating Officer, Cyber Code Ltd, said that cyber ethics should be the moral behaviour of internet usage.

Igbalajobi, said this while speaking on the topic “Cyber Ethics”, urged the public to understand the moral implications of what they do online.

“There is need to understand the basic role of information security and the need not to share confidential information about family and business online.

“One needs to have a secure password, build cyber security resilience system, pay attention to critical vulnerabilities, avoid cyber stocking and virus propagating,” he said.

He listed some tips that would aid in improving cyber security safety in the workplace as to follow the department cyber security policies and procedures.

He noted that people should learn to properly mark, handle and disseminate classified information, and look for warning signs for insider threats and take advantage of diplomatic security training centers.

He also advised that a good password should be one that was long, complex and temporary, adding that a different password should be used for each device.