NITDA, NCC, NigComSat & 24 Others to Discuss Cyber Security

Cyber security has been declared a major statutory responsibility of the present administration and the concerned government agency like National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has vowed to “wield its powers to ensure that the administration succeeds in achieving peaceful and secured cyber space activity”. 

Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami, director general of NITDA, who made the declaration recently would lead the DGs of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerian Communication Satellite Limited (NigComSat) and 24 other speakers to Nigeria’s first all-embracing talk that is planned to usher the country into a proper consciousness of tackling the growing menace of cyber insecurity.

According to Dr Bayero Agabi, executive director of Centre for Cyber Awareness Development (CECAD), a non-profit ICT coalition agency, the dialogue themed “Cyber security: a Shared Responsibility” would seek to collaborate with NCC, NITDA, NigComSat and other stakeholders to midwife a multi-stakeholders awareness campaign across, “government, corporate institutions and private citizens through the principles of the Public Private Partnership (PPP).”
 
The event, which would hold in Lagos on December 8, 2016, would place Nigeria on a good stead to seek to adopt October of every year as the annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM), adding that Nigeria would be aligning with some countries that have earlier adopted October every year as awareness campaign month. These countries include the USA, UK, Brazil and others.

He informed that initial efforts by some stakeholders such as the Nigerian Internet Registration Agency (NIRA) are a precursor to the goal of declaring every October of the year as “cyber security awareness campaign month in line with global trend”.

This collaboration, Agabi said, would yield multiplier effect across public and private sector, as the growing threats of cyber security, “is more real than imagined. Nigeria can no longer afford to allow discrete access to its vital assets and the privacy of its citizens be compromised because of the low awareness index on cyber security among its citizens and corporate establishments”.

He said that NCC, NITDA and NigComSat are key players in the cyber security environment with laudable existing structures and vision to help Nigeria achieve a stable and secured cyber space usage and experience.

The DGs of NCC, NITDA and NigComSat would deliver keynotes that would stir robust discussions by a team of cyber security architects and lawyers, new media management experts and top security agencies among others.

Already, Tony Ojobo, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, has expressed the Commission’s readiness “to help the current administration to succeed in its drive to ensure a safe cyber space in the country”.