Citing the associated threats and dynamics within the cyberspace, the Federal Government, yesterday, inaugurated a multi-stakeholder committee to review the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2014.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Monguno (rtd), who spoke at the event in Abuja, stressed the need to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity architecture. He said the entire cyber ecosystem needed periodic reforms for efficiency.
A statement from his office noted that the evaluation was part of efforts to reposition the country to fully exploit the benefits of the Internet for enhanced security and economy.
The Senate had put the nation’s yearly loss to cybercrime at N250 billion. Monguno acknowledged that recent digital advancements have thrown up new businesses, ideas, responsibilities and social interactions.
For him, there was need for the Giant of Africa to redefine its national objectives and address some pressing developmental challenges together with the emergence of new forms of criminality and terrorism perpetrated through the cyberspace.
His words: “This committee was constituted to identify the current gaps in the National Cybersecurity Strategy and Policy 2014, articulate the various inputs of stakeholders and develop necessary frameworks to effectively mitigate evolving cyber threats and enhance Nigeria’s productive engagements in the cyberspace.”
The NSA said the panel’s eventual recommendations would be formulated to facilitate positive transformations, cater for emerging technologies, engender collaboration between stakeholders, foster capacity building, as well as protect critical national functions and data privacy.
“The success of this committee in developing a comprehensive and purposeful National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2020 will strengthen the security and adaptability of Nigeria’s cyberspace and facilitate the projection of our digital economy,” he added.
Monguno pointed out that the proposed document would reflect global norms and promote cooperation with Nigeria’s allies in the areas of security and economic development.
In his remarks, the panel chairman, Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, said the United Nations had put together 11 voluntary norms for state actors, including confidence-building measures. He stated that the nation needed a generation of cyber-diplomats to participate in the norms as they evolve from soft to hard international laws.
Ajijola said the African cybersecurity solutions market, this year, was estimated at $2.32 billion and projected to grow to between $3.6 and $4.2 billion by 2023.
“We must factor in the underserved and unborn, because they must live with the effects of the policies and strategy decisions that we make today,” he advised.
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