Nigeria needs to ramp up action against cybercrime

The rising wave of cybercrime constitutes a huge threat to individuals, businesses, and governments in an increasingly digitalised world. According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, Nigeria lost about $500 million (N800 billion) to cybercrime in 2022 alone. Global losses could soon reach $10.5 trillion per the EFCC chair who spoke on Tuesday at the national cybercrime summit, citing multiple sources. With about 2,328 cases recorded daily globally and a significant uptick in cybercrimes reported locally, Nigeria cannot afford to be complacent in rallying resources to combat this scourge.

Cybercrime is defined as criminal activity that either targets or uses a computer, a computer network or a networked device. Cybercrimes perpetrated by criminals and terrorists can easily disrupt people’s lives, businesses, financial systems, and infrastructure services such as power grids, airports and railway systems. With 127 new devices connected to the internet every second, the cybersecurity threat is estimated to remain a significant challenge for the foreseeable future.

Cybersecurity firm, Kaspersky Labs, identifies various types of cybercrime including email and internet fraud, identity fraud; theft of financial or card payment data, theft and sale of corporate data, ransomware attacks, cryptojacking, cyberespionage, interfering with systems in a way that compromises a network, infringing copyright, and soliciting, producing, or possessing child pornography.

The cybersecurity market’s global indicator projects that the ‘Estimated Cost of Cybercrime’ will continuously increase by $6.4 trillion from 2024 to reach $15.63 trillion by 2029.  The United States Agency for International Development expects cybercrime to continue to grow unabated over the coming years, with loss projections as high as $23.84 trillion by 2027. As of 2023, over 72 percent of businesses worldwide were affected by ransomware attacks. This figure represents an increase on the previous five years and was by far the highest figure reported.

Nigerians gained worldwide notoriety and the country’s image has been sullied in recent years for a wide range of internet scams popularly known as “Yahoo Yahoo,” targeting individuals and companies abroad. Many Nigerians have also fallen victim to scammers who con people to reveal details that compromise bank details or social media accounts, and bogus online schemes that promise huge returns for little investment. Even the e-commerce space has been invaded by scammers who collect money for goods that are not delivered. Banks have also been targeted directly by hackers who raid accounts with huge losses.

The growing army of tech-savvy Nigerian youths including university students and graduates now aspire to be “Yahoo boys” aiming to acquire instant riches and perpetrate most of these crimes. Recent media reports indicate that special underground centres are being set up to “train” young people in this dark art. This trend endangers the future of the country’s youths.

Nigeria has developed a national cybersecurity strategy since 2014 but it is trite that a lot still needs to be done beyond drawing up a policy document.

A robust cybersecurity architecture entails several elements per global consulting firm, McKinsey and Company. These include a dedicated national cybersecurity agency charged with the overall responsibility of defining and driving the country’s cybersecurity agenda; a national critical infrastructure protection programme charged with protecting critical infrastructure; a national incident response and recovery plan to mitigate the effects of cyber incidents and improve recovery time;  a framework of cybersecurity laws to prevent, investigate, and take actions against cybercrimes; and a vibrant cybersecurity ecosystem consisting of cybersecurity companies and entrepreneurs.

While the enactment of the Cybersecurity Act 2024 is a significant step in this direction, the other elements appear to be lacking and must be implemented without delay. It will require massive and continuous investment in infrastructure, technologies, training, and management systems as well as collaboration with other stakeholders in the ecosystem.

There must be a strong nationwide drive to refocus the skills and talents of Nigeria’s young digital natives towards productive and rewarding activities in cyberspace with more investments in ICT education and creating more opportunities to thrive.

The get-rich-quick syndrome must be addressed at all levels with the family, schools, civil society, and religious organisations playing vital roles in that effort.

The number of Nigeria’s internet users is projected to grow to 117 million in 2027 compared with 48 million as of 2022. Nigeria could be at risk of becoming the cybercrime centre of the world if the government takes the usual route of being long on intentions but short on actions.