TECHDIGEST- The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has inaugurated an incidence response facility aimed at addressing incidences of cybercrimes, protecting telecoms infrastructure, and encouraging increased participation in the nation’s digital economy.

As the Commission’s industry-specific intervention, the objectives of the NCC Center for Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) are aligned to the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) published by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

The NCPS requires each sector to establish a computer security incident response team that provides provide requisite services to the stakeholders and players within each sector.

The overall mandate of the NCC-CSIRT is to ensure continuous improvement of processes and communication frameworks to guarantee the secure and collaborative exchange of timely information while responding to cyber threats within the sector.

While commissioning the project in Abuja, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, described the Center as a strategic step in boosting cybersecurity in Nigeria and commended the Board and Management of the Commission for ensuring successful implementation of the project.

Pantami noted that the commissioning of the facility marks an important milestone in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, and described it as a significant measure in the support of national efforts at protecting the information and communication technology infrastructure in the country.

“The creation of the Center is in line with the provisions of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) document published by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), which was recently updated and launched by President Muhammadu Buhari in February 2021.

“In keeping with the principles enshrined in the policy, each sector is expected to establish a sectoral Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) that provides requisite services to the constituents within that sector,” the Minister said.

Earlier, Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said considering the increasing growth in Internet usage, especially as a consequence of the outbreak of the pandemic, the Commission observed a rise in cyber incidents and criminal activities.

“Thus, the Commission recognises that with the borderless nature and pervasiveness of these incidences, relentless and concerted attention is required to protect Internet users as well as the Critical National Information Infrastructure and ensure they are resilient”, Danbatta said.

The EVC emphasised that the NCC-CSIRT has been structured to operate within the framework of the NCPS and the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) to assist the Nigerian communications sector with the management and coordination of cyber security incidents and threats.

He noted that the CSIRT, established as a proactive step towards building trust, and safety needed for growing the digital economy, will initially focus on four main areas of monitoring, incident management, communication, and alert and warning.

Danbatta explained that the key mandates of the CSIRT, which will be achieved through a collaborative effort with relevant stakeholders, organisations, and agencies, include assisting the sector in the defence and response to major cyber threats and attacks targeted at the members within the sector.

The Centre is also to liaise with other sectoral CSIRTs as well as local and international security frameworks to protect the communications sector and the general wellbeing of the Nigerian people.

Also speaking, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Retd), represented by Brig-Gen. Samad Akesode, acknowledged the establishment of NCC-CSIRT as a clear demonstration of the Commission’s resolve to join hands with the federal government in mitigating any risk that will emanate as Nigeria embraces advanced technology to facilitate digital transformation in the country.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu and the Chairman, Committee on Telecommunications in the House of Representatives, Akeem Adeyemi, heads of other agencies in the Ministry, were among the dignitaries that attended the event.

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TECHDIGEST – The federal government has begun moves to implement the new National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) announced plans for the implementation at the end of the 7th Meeting of the Cybercrime Advisory Council convened on Monday by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd).

The nation has battled an upsurge in cybercrimes, a situation that has led to the arrest and conviction of over 1,200 Nigerian youths in recent times.

The preponderance of fake news items on social media has also raised concerns as security forces battle insurgency and armed banditry.

A statement issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the council, in pursuant to its mandate under the Cybercrime Act 2015, discussed the modalities for the implementation of the new National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS) 2021.

The council deliberated on the development of a protection plan for Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) and updated the modalities for the upcoming cybersecurity sensitisation programme.

“The 7th Meeting of the National Advisory Council reviewed emerging risks in the cyberspace and discussed modalities to facilitate and strengthen ongoing initiatives towards the implementation of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2021.

“The Office of the National Security Adviser updated the council on the identification, designation and protection of critical national information infrastructure as specified in the Cybercrime (Prohibition, Protection etc) Act 2015”, it said.

Consequently, the council deliberated on the development of a protection plan and guidelines for the already identified critical national information infrastructure.

The statement signed by the Head, Strategic Communication, Mr Zakari Usman, stated that as part of ongoing initiatives to achieve the strategic objectives of the NCPS 2021, the ONSA briefed the council on the progress made towards the planning of the three-month cybersecurity sensitisation workshops across seven sectors from September to December 2021.

The sectors include telecommunications, defence and security, education, finance and capital market, energy, professional organisations, the private sector and judiciary.

“The workshop series will provide information, strengthen cybersecurity governance and coordination, and build the capacity of relevant stakeholders on their responsibilities under the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy. “The workshops will also sensitise stakeholders on the expected deliverables, projected timelines and key performance indicators as required in the action plan for the strategy implementation”, it said.

The statement affirmed that the national cybersecurity sensitisation programme will commence with the defence and security sector on 15 and 16 September 2021.

The workshop for other sectors would be conducted every fortnight till the first week of December 2021.

President Muhammadu Buhari launched the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy on February 23, 2021, following the implementation and review of the maiden National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy.

Following the launch, the policy document was widely disseminated to federal ministries, departments and agencies, private organisations and relevant stakeholders for implementation.

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TECHDIGEST – Cybersecurity experts have raised concerns over Nigeria’s ability to respond to possible cyberthreats, questioning the efficiency of the country’s lead advisory team and the management of its dedicated fund.

The Cybercrime Advisory Council, led by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, was set up in 2016 and was tasked with checking rising cybercrimes and formulating the modalities for implementing the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act 2015.

While Nigeria is yet to face a significant cyber attack, experts say the country does not need to wait until that happens before it takes action. They argue that with growing incidents of cybercrimes globally, structures put in place to address such threats need to be functional and funds judiciously used.

Nigeria lost about N250 billion in 2017 and N288 billion in 2018 to cybercrime, a Proshare report said.

Aligning with global trend, Nigeria enacted the Cybercrimes Act in May 2015, its first law to deal with cyber crimes.

The law gave strength to a 2011 ECOWAS protocol on fighting cybercrime, and to the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy adopted on February 5 of same year.

The legislation empowered the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Attorney General of the Federation to enforce its provisions, and mandated the establishment of a fund for its operations. It also made it mandatory for the government to set up a multi-agency Cybercrime Advisory Council and the National Cyber Security Fund maintained with the CBN and administered by the NSA.

The fund is funded by a 0.005 per cent levy on all transactions by GSM service providers, telecommunication companies, internet service providers, banks and other financial institutions, insurance companies, and the Nigerian stock exchange.

On April 19, 2016, the Buhari government set up a 31-member council made up of representatives of various establishments and civil society.

With that decision, Nigeria became the fifth African country and the first in West Africa to enact the cybercrime law and set in motion strategies for its implementation.

The inaugurated council was tasked with formulating the modalities for implementing the Cybercrime (Prohibition Prevention) Act 2015.

The CBN on July 4, 2018, set up the cyber-security fund after instructing the relevant organisations to set aside required levies from online transactions made by Nigerians.

However, there are concerns over the efficiency of the council and the management of the multibillion naira fund.

For instance, while the legislation mandates the council to meet four times a year, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the council has only met six times since they were constituted in 2016.

The last time the council meeting was on July 20, 2020. By the provisions of the law, the council should have met about 20 times at the time. There are also questions surrounding the lack of transparency in the management of the funds.

A member of the council, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said the council has not been serving the purpose for which it had been set up. The source said since the council has only been able to meet about six times since it was set up in 2016, its efficiency has been called to question “and members are not happy’’.

“We should have met at least 20 times if we are to go by the stipulations of the Act but the NSA rarely calls for meetings. His excuse is that he is always busy. But we know that with the emerging cyber threats world over, this is the right time for the council to be fully functional and discharge its roles but this is not so,’’ the source said.

The source also said there needs to be more openness in the management of the funds and its disbursement should be “for only projects approved by the council’’ and not ‘unilaterally’ approved by the NSA.

The mechanism through which the fund is to be disbursed is not clearly defined in the law and this has made its management at the discretion of the NSA, sources within the council argued.

Section 44(5) merely says up to 40 per cent of the fund “may be allocated for programmes countering violent extremism”. It is not clear if the funds have been deployed in dealing with the violence in the North-east and other parts of the country.

Section 43 also says the fund will be applied “toward the functions of the Council” as well as “establishing an enabling environment and formulating general policy, which includes awarding research and graduate training grants in the cybersecurity field”.

One source said members were stunned recently when, after months of inactivity amid the COVID crisis, the NSA launched a National Cyber-security Policy and Strategy document “which had minimal input from the council members’’.

The source said the NSA also early this year, perhaps in reaction to the unease among members of the council over his handling of its activities, replaced some members.

The source, who was particularly concerned about the lack of transparency in the management of the fund, said “there is no accountability as per the resources that should have been utilised to meet specific timelines and projects specified in the National Cyber Security Policy and Strategy adopted in 2015’’.

‘’For now, the NSA runs a ‘one-man show’ in which council members are now mere onlookers,” the source said. “The main reason why these members were selected from various establishments was to help the NSA implement the strategy as clearly spelt out in the act and the relevant projects to help Nigeria address cyberthreats and related crimes. But now, the council is dormant and has failed to serve the purpose for which it was set up. We don’t meet regularly to agree on anything.’’

Efforts to get a reaction from the NSA on the report were not successful as his known phone line was switched off despite several attempts to connect.

Two officials in the Office of the NSA initially agreed to speak on the matter on the condition of anonymity, but later failed to send a response days after an email was sent to them as requested.

A subsequent reminder sent to one of the officers asked to give an official response was not responded to.

Also, the director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, did not respond to enquiries from PREMIUM TIMES on the status of the fund, days after he also asked that the questions are sent to him via his phone.

Separately, PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that banks and related financial outfits have been remitting fees from customers’ online transactions into the fund, as directed by the law.

A member of the council who represents the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola, told PREMIUM TIMES the council convenes whenever pertinent issues that the NSA needs assessing are brought to its (his) attention.

“The most recent one to my knowledge was the updating of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy that was concluded efficiently and on time and approved by Mr President Buhari GCFR earlier this year,” he said.

He said the policy and strategy document released is relevant “and all the focus should be on implementation and execution of the numerous recommendations already laid out. This is still work in progress and engagements with critical stakeholders will begin in earnest.’’

He added that “all cyber threats are actively being monitored by all stakeholders in a collaborative manner. Cyberspace is vast and the most critical stakeholders are you and I. There is a need to raise public awareness programmes across all communities and of course, distil digital literacy to encourage safe internet usage.’’

Mr Teniola’s optimism is not shared by some industry experts who want Nigerians to take more than a cursory interest in the nation’s preparedness for cyber threats and how the funds are being managed.

The Executive Director of the Centre for Cyberspace Studies, Nasarawa State University, Uche Mbanaso, said Nigeria is ill-prepared to handle cyber-threats, arguing that the NSA-led council is not enough.

“The fund is a good initiative. This is what almost every other country does to be able to appropriately fund such a complex security terrain in cyberspace,’’ he told PREMIUM TIMES. “However, the cybersecurity sector in Nigeria has really suffered a lot of setbacks simply because there is really no agency mapped out to take the responsibility of cybersecurity.’’

“Cybersecurity is very vast and complex. In many instances, it is not something you can subsume under ONSA (Office of the NSA) because ONSA, for instance, doesn’t have its own staff. It takes staff from security and intelligence agencies. You cannot enhance cybersecurity by ad-hoc staff. You need a consistent and sustainable workforce that can champion cybersecurity,’’ he notes.

He also said policing the cyberspace is not as easy as policing the physical space.

‘’Before someone gets into our physical space in Nigeria, he (or she) must obtain a visa. Someone coming into your cyberspace does not need a visa. Someone coming into Nigeria also has to pass through immigration. Not so for cyberspace. These are some of the factors that make policing cyberspace a very complex and sophisticated venture.’’

He said Nigeria is not yet serious about securing its cyberspace.

“UK has nothing less than six agencies that work on cybersecurity. There are different aspects of cybersecurity. Look at our critical infrastructure, for instance, it is very huge. Many countries have agencies just for the protection of critical infrastructure. They also have agencies that are dedicated to responding to threats. They have agencies that deal with research and development.”

The scholar, who said it was time for the nation to take practical steps to secure its cyber assets, then took a swipe at the council.

“Who are those in the advisory council? How many experts are in that council? People cannot give what they don’t have. The council is made up of mostly civil servants. Most of them don’t have anything to offer as per knowledge in cybersecurity. This is an area that needs expertise. In years to come, our military may be procuring cyberweapons with millions of U.S. dollars and even exporting it from Nigeria will be a tug of war. Cyberweapon is more lethal than a nuclear weapon. Why not start now by creating centres of excellence? We don’t want to invest….’’

Uche Mbanaso The Executive Director, the Centre for Cyberspace Studies, Nasarawa State University
Ayoola Falola, a cybersecurity expert based in Abuja said the NSA-led team appears set up for failure.

“Just like many other ‘advisory’ councils set-up in Nigeria – the law mandates ministries and MDAs to ‘donate’ members. There is no care if such government establishments have the right staffing and framework to support such membership,” he said.

‘’Cybersecurity is a fast-paced industry; but based on the membership representation from government agencies, the council doesn’t seem to have enough theoretical and technical knowledge to support the mandate they are given.

‘’To help make the council effective, I recommend they elect permanent members (based strictly on merit) and invest in a programme that would keep the council busy and engage the ‘stakeholders’ to ensure that the goals of the act are established and fulfilled.’’

He also called for more transparency in the management of the cybersecurity funds and called for more companies to be made to contribute to it.

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TECH DIGEST – 5G phone masts are being set alight in the UK, after online conspiracy theories have misleadingly linked the cell towers to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has expressed concern over the proposed licensing of the fifth generation of wireless communications technology network (5G) in the country, describing it as a threat to national security.

ONSA said introducing the 5G network will make the infrastructure highly susceptible to eavesdropping, tracking, cyber-attacks, military and industrial espionage and other malicious activities by foreign actors.

However, the Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said the country is ready for 5G and almost at the final stage of the process, as long as existing challenges are addressed.

ONSA stated this yesterday at the public hearing on the status of the 5G network in Nigeria and its technological impact on Nigerian citizens, organised by the Senate joint Committee on communications, science and technology, ICT and cybercrimes, and primary healthcare.

The NSA, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno, who was represented by the Communications Office Director, Dr. Bala Fakandu, said though they were contacted before the deployment of the initial trial of the network, they were concerned about the deliberate vulnerabilities and backdoors within the 5G network equipment.

He said, ”I am going to talk about the National Security concerns. We are aware that the deployment of 5G will come with different types of equipment and so we understand that the stakeholders in the telecommunications industry will make an effort to ensure that they upgrade their systems in order to meet up with the new technology.

“We understand these are things that will be put in place particularly in the policy that the Honourable Minister has talked about but I need to emphasise it so that the stakeholders in the telecommunications industry will understand where we are coming from because the national security concerns are the concern of the Office of the National Security Adviser and concern of the president as well.

“In that guise, we are going to ensure on our own position and we urge the minister to carry the office along in the development of the policy so that we could have a robust framework to take care of these areas.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Communication, Pantami, however, was of the notion that the country is ready for 5G network.

He said though they’ve not gotten to the point of knowing whether the network will be deployed, they are currently on track conducting research, investigations, engaging stakeholders and if all issues are addressed, the Executive will support the deployment in Nigeria.

Pantami said: ”We are not operating in circles. Nigerian telecommunication sector is part and parcel of the International Telecommunication Union (under the United Nations) where issues of telecommunication technology and its impacts are being discussed.

”Part of what we have achieved through the engagement, conducting research, engaging ITU and WHO at the international level, we are in the process of compiling our final position. And most of the compiled position will be part of my draft national policy which will be presented to the Federal Executive Council. Mr President is very much aware of all these stages from the beginning to where we stopped.”

He also denied claims that 5G is responsible for COVID-19 saying if there is any relationship with COVID-19, he would have been the first victim.

His words: ”To date I have not contracted the virus. And I did the test up to 10 times. So I did the trial personally. On the 25th of September 2019, we conducted the first trial of 5G in Nigeria. In other to demonstrate trust and prove leadership by example, I personally pledged to make a trial so if there is any security implication or medical implication, then Isah would be the number one victim.”

”There is no link between 5G and COVID-19. And there is no relationship between 5G and any disease. The only issue being raised usually is about radiation. But people don’t realise that the radiation of 4G more harmful than that of 5G. The radiation of the microwave oven at home is more harmful than that of the 5G. The radiation of even the smartphone itself is even more harmful than that of 5G.”

Declaring the public hearing open, the President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan said in the ideal sense, 5G is supposed to be an advancement in communication, but concerns of citizens emanated from the limited knowledge of a virus that was wreaking havoc across the globe.

Lawan added that the Senate will only approve of the technology, only if, the security and safety of the citizens are guaranteed.

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