- Cyber Frauds: NCC Warns Telecoms Operators of Losing Customers
Nigerians may be forced to resort to the old practice of digging and saving their monies in holes to avoid being victims of cybercrimes, if telecommunications operators fail to inspire customers’ confidence in the integrity of their networks, the Nigerian Communications Commission has warned.
The Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who gave the warning at the 88th edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Parliament in Abuja on Thursday, disclosed that the telecommunications body had established a Cyber Security Incidence Response Team in response to the growing threat of cybercrimes.
Recounting his own personal experience, Danbatta said the rate at which Nigerians were losing money to cyber fraudsters was on the increase, adding that the commission had to establish a counterforce for the telecommunications sector to complement efforts of the National Security Adviser.
He said, “The complexity of the networks is increasing and the complexity of the risks associated with the networks is also increasing.
“Everything is taking place in the cyberspace. The network can easily be penetrated. An unscrupulous person can penetrate the signal we send to our banks. What we don’t want people to see can be seen by the public.
“We must go back to the drawing board to inspire confidence in customers so that they can use the telecommunications networks. If we don’t do anything about it, we will go back to the Stone Age where people dug holes in their houses to keep their monies safe.”
Asked what telecommunications operators could do differently to secure subscribers, Danbatta said, “It is wrong for telecommunication operators to disclose the data of subscribers on their networks. Doing so is illegal. If such takes place, the subscriber in question can escalate the matter through the NCC, and the NCC will investigate and take necessary regulatory measures.
“At the national level, we have the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team that is domiciled in the office of the National Security Adviser. It was put in place to secure Nigeria’s cyberspace.
“The Cyber Security Act directed that all sectors of the economy should be protected. So, every sector is supposed to have a sectoral protection against cyber-attacks. That is why the NCC is in the process of putting in place a Cyber Security Incidence Response Team.”
In a welcome address, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Mrs Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, said that although cybercrime was a global phenomenon, it was very pronounced in Nigeria.
She said, “The issue of cybercrime is a global phenomenon with levels of pervasiveness different from country to country and from region to region. It is also more pronounced in Nigeria, as it costs individuals and organisations revenue losses, among other dangers it poses to victims.”
Onwuegbuchulam added that the NCC was committed to ensuring that the risks associated with the usage of the Internet by Nigerians were addressed.