How Nigeria Lost N40bn To Cyber Crime

How Nigeria Lost N40bn To Cyber Crime

Speaking at the 2016 annual Cyber Security Forum on Tuesday in Abuja, Oseji said from the statistics published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that Nigeria lost N40 billion to cybercrimes, adding that the many Nigerians have also lost their lives as result of dubious people they met on the facebook or other social media platforms.

He explained that terrorists and kidnappers have often used cyber infrastructure to destroy people’s lives.

He noted that data thefts, hacked devices, hijacked sites, cyber attacks are adverse consequences of interconnected digital world.

According to him, “Cybercrimes are costing chief executive officers their jobs, consumers their identities while government secret information is divulged and companies lose their customers.”

To this end, he called on the government and the private sector to join hands in combating cyber security threats and attacks.

Oseji warned that cyber attacks and cyber crimes would be on the increase as the world is becoming more digitalised.

“The more digitalised we are, the more we are exposed to cyber attacks,” he said.

The president of Integrated Cyber Security Solutions Limited further faulted Nigeria’s law on cybercrime, adding that the law is more of spelling out punitive measures rather than preventive measures.

He contended that government should not wait for the crimes to be committed before applying punishment, saying that measures should be put in place to stem cybercrimes.

Therefore, he advocated the holistic review of the law on cybercrime to tackle cybercrimes and attacks.

Also speaking, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Svante Kilander, commended the efforts of the government in the fight against cybercrimes.

Kilander said his country would be in the forefront of providing solutions to the cyber crimes and attacks.

He said each era in the evolution of the world presents its own challenges, adding that cybercrime is one of the challenges of this era.