Why is it important? What kind of attacks exist? and What can individuals, organizations and the government do to avoid cybercrime?

The Information Systems Audit and Control Association, ISACA defines cybersecurity as “the sum of efforts invested in addressing cyber risk, much of which was, until recently, considered so improbable that it hardly required our attention.” However, over the past several years, experts and policy makers have expressed increasing concerns about protecting ICT systems from cyber-attacks, which many experts expect to increase in frequency and severity over the next several years. The increase in risk has been created by the increase in connection between individuals and machines and even more because of machine to machine connections.

Let us put things in perspective. The economic impact of Cybercrime cannot be emphasized enough with developed countries struggling to fight the ever changing and persistent attackers. According to The Guardian Newspaper, the Nigerian Economy losses about N78 billion annually to cybercrime. Check Point Software Technologies ThreatCloud World Cyber Threat Map, which keeps up with global cyber-attacks has listed Nigeria as one of the top 20 Most attacked countries in the world.

What are the most common cyber-attacks in Nigeria?

• Social Engineering: manipulation of individuals to breach security. No matter the security policy, an individual that leaks important security information increases cyber risk.
• Malware: a general term used for intrusive software that is developed to damage/disrupt a system.
• Pharming: a cyber-attack intended to redirect a website’s traffic to another, fake site.

How can we protect ourselves?

• Individuals: using strong passwords, updating software, managing risk and do not give out personal information over the phone or in an email unless completely sure.
• Businesses: Develop security policies, execute cybersecurity audits, develop business continuity and disaster recovery plans and policy review and employee Education
• Government: Enforce the Nigeria Cybercrime act 2015, Increase awareness to the general public, Reward sharing cybercrime reports to narrow hackers.