The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard has sounded a warning to the Federal Government of Nigeria about endorsing unreliable telecommunications companies, as Nigeria prepares for the 5G technology auction next week. The 5G technology will subsequently be deployed early in 2022.
According to the Ambassador, giving untrusted telecoms suppliers the space to participate in or take control of any part of a 5G network would result in unwanted risks and even threats to important aspects like national security, respect for human rights and critical infrastructure.
Leonard said this at the 2021 International Legislative Stakeholders’ Conference on Digital Technology and Cybersecurity, which was organised by the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybercrime, in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).
Speaking at the conference which was themed “The Digital Theatre and the future of Nigeria”, she emphasised the need for governments, telecom users and the network users to give maximum priority to security when deploying their 5G networks.
According to her, a vital aspect of safeguarding the security of digital technologies is making sure that countries and their citizens can trust both the equipment and software which they are using. She said it was particularly true, as the 5G technology has been guaranteed to not bring in risks that threaten national security, human rights or even personal privacy.
Leonard also said that national measures must be established to lessen significant security risks from high risk suppliers, irrespective of national origin by prohibiting the suppliers from providing equipment, software and services to 5G network infrastructure.
Leonard then went ahead to say that the United States of America is demonstrating a commitment to promoting a vibrant digital economy across the world, which will also enable every single citizen to reap the benefits of the new 5G technology and the promise of its security, as well as other wireless networks that may come up in future generations.