Stakeholders in the cybersecurity space have blamed the rising spate of cybercrimes in the society on ignorance.
This was disclosed during the launch of ‘NoGoFallMaga, Confam Am Again’ campaign by the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigerian Financial Industry, with the backing of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Bankers Committee, and Cybersafe Foundation.
According to the stakeholders, the anti-fraud campaign was a comprehensive initiative aimed at promoting cybersecurity awareness and education among customers of commercial banks, payment service providers, and the public.
They noted that if done right, the campaign would reduce the prevalence of cybercrimes and financial fraud in the country.
They stated that the initiative would be carried out in all the major languages in Nigeria, including pidgin.
Speaking at the launch, the Chairman of the Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigeria’s Financial Industry, Mr Festus Amede, said the financial industry had witnessed increased adoption of digital technology in response to the CBN’s financial inclusion initiatives and post COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
He said that had led to a rise in cybercrimes and financial frauds, and was making customers lose trust and confidence in the financial system.
He stated, “This increased innovation and use of digital platforms has greatly transformed the cyber and technology landscape, thereby, giving rise to new risks, especially with sustaining trust and confidence in customers’ ability to communicate and transact securely within the financial ecosystem.
“Collectively, we will continue to ensure adequate measures are taken to combat some of the cybersecurity challenges, including preventing customer financial losses unscrupulous elements tagged cybercriminals.”
The Chairman of Cybersafe Foundation, Dr. Peter Obadare, noted that the essence of the initiative was to build a human firewall in addition to the security firewall being built by the financial institutions to prevent fraud.
He said, “We have built processes, and we have spent on technologies, but we also need to build the human firewall.
“When we talk about cybersecurity, most of the time, we know it is about technology. It is about the process, and then of course, it is about the people and I usually say that there is no amount of investment that you put in the people side that can ever go wrong. What we are doing today is about increasing the cybersecurity intelligence quotient of the populace, which is very important. It is about building the human firewall.”
