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The Cyber Security Council chaired by the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (Retd), has approved the establishment of a committee to facilitate the amendment of the Cybercrime Act 2015 even as it launched Cyber Security Toolkits for 41 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) operating in Nigeria. The Cybercrime Advisory Council meeting held on Thursday, March 31, 2022, also directed additional Cyber Security sensitisation for stakeholders.
A statement by the Head, Strategic Communications Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Zakari Usman, said the 9th meeting of the Cybercrime Advisory Council also charged relevant agencies on Cyber Security resilience and preparedness. He said the Council was updated on activities and events since the 8th meeting of the Council in compliance with the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021 and the provisions of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act 2015.
The Office of the National Security Adviser informed the Council of “ongoing gap analysis to identify capacity deficit amongst relevant law enforcement agencies pursuant to the Cybercrimes Act 2015 to guide future capacity building efforts.” The National Security Adviser further emphasised the need for collaboration, capacity building, and information sharing to ensure a safe and resilient cyber ecosystem for Nigeria.
“As part of measures to address emerging cyber threats heightened by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, ngCERT has increased its routine monitoring activities and advisories to relevant stakeholders and held sectorial Computer Security Incidents Response Teams meeting on 29 March 2022 to facilitate incident management coordination, enhance reporting and strengthen information sharing mechanism. “The meeting received several reports from sub-committees and the Council also approved the establishment of a committee to facilitate the amendment of the Cybercrime Act 2015,” he added.
The Council also received brief on the successful completion of seven sector-based sensitisation workshops by the Office of the National Security Adviser between September – December 2021 and informed stakeholders of two additional sector-based sensitization workshops on the implementation of the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy for critical organizations scheduled between May -June 2022.
The Cybercrime Advisory Council was further briefed on the launching of Cyber Security Toolkits for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by ONSA in collaboration with United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) aimed at protecting MSMEs from cyber threats.
“The pilot launch of the toolkit in February 2022 was conducted with over 200 SMEs in attendance, while the main launch of the toolkit is scheduled for 5 April 2022. “The Council was further informed that the toolkits will be available for use to protect online activities of over 41 million MSMEs that operate in Nigeria,” he said.
On protection plan for Critical National Information Infrastructure, Council was briefed on measures to protect telecommunications assets and ongoing efforts to sensitise State Governments on emerging threats. Council was further informed of two workshops conducted on Critical National Information Infrastructure Protection in collaboration with the United Kingdom FCDO, and a capacity building workshop held from January 31 – February 1, 2022 on the development of a National Cyber Security Risk Assessment.
(leadership.ng)
