The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, has stated that a recent spike in the number of recorded cyberattacks in Africa is threatening the growth of the continent’s digital economy.
Quoting the recently published ‘Africa Cybersecurity Report,’ he noted that cyber-attacks on the continent increased by 300 per cent in 2022.
He said this was worrisome, given that Africa’s digital economy is on the rise and has been projected to be worth $180bn in 2025 by the World Bank.
The minister disclosed this on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a two-day cybersecurity stakeholder capacity-building workshop organised by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in partnership with the World Bank in Abuja.
According to him, businesses and organisations must take necessary steps to protect themselves against cyber threats.
Pantami said, “Nigeria recorded a total of 12.9 million cyber-threats, originating from both within and outside Nigeria during the presidential elections and a total of 3.8 million cyber-attacks, originating from both within and outside Nigeria during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
“Attempts that were recorded included Distributed Denial of Service, email and Internet Protocol Spoofing attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing.”
He stated that the statistics were alarming and highlighted the need for urgent action to protect the continent’s infrastructure and digital economy.
He added, “Hence, the importance of having a robust cybersecurity strategy cannot be overstated, and it is essential to protect our digital infrastructure, businesses, and citizens.”
