Having witnessed exponential growth over the years on the back of rising smartphone, tablet and wearable device ownership and significant improvement in broadband internet services, industry watchers fear that the mismanagement and non-regulation of mobile application development in Nigeria’s multibillion-dollar mobile app market can be highly prone to the exploitation of software hackers and cyber criminals.
They say that Nigerian software developers are more concerned about the acceptance and sale of innovations rather than about the perfection and, more importantly, protection of their intellectual property.
“Most app developers in Nigeria are focused on promoting their apps to increase the amount of downloads and revenue they get, forgetting totally about how to update and upgrade their apps to ensure its security. Even the downloaders are not concerned about how to secure the apps on their mobile devices,” Subomi Sodipo, CEO, CFMobile, told BusinessDay.
In 2013, when the Nigerian mobile app market was valued at $1 billion at the mobile app summit, James Rutherford of Nokia Corporation said, “The sub-$100 smartphone is steadily becoming a reality globally. Low-end smartphones are increasingly available and these types of mobile phone will likely grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent over the coming years.”
This forecast became even more evident in reports by GFK Retail and Technology Nigeria which listed the country as the third highest tech device growth market globally in 2015, with a 13 percent growth between 2014 and 2015. According to the report, sales of technology devices rose from $5.1 billion in 2014 to $5.7 billion in 2015. Gaming apps have so far spurred the rapid growth of mobile software applications, as Nigeria’s app-based mobile gaming market was in 2018 valued at $21 million and is estimated to be worth $53 million by 2022, according to Statista.com, an online research tool.
Norton, anti-virus and software security company, says victims lost an average of $142 billion to hackers in 2017.
Businesses in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries lose $140,000 daily to hackers and internet fraudsters, according to Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cyber security solutions.
According to 2018 figures from Jumia’s mobile report, mobile phone penetration stands at 84 percent of Nigeria’s population. 53 percent (97.2 million) of those are smartphone users.
Analysts say that the increase in popularity of smartphones, increase in Nigeria’s broadband internet penetration, which now stands at 31 percent, and minimal usage of mobile security solutions create an open avenue for hackers and cybercriminals to move from the traditional desktop and laptop online fraud to mobile online space which virtually has a more open access to personal and financial information such as mobile banking apps, social media apps and sensitive data.
Femi Fadairo, head, industry security, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), said at a cyber security and banking fraud summit in Lagos that Nigerians are becoming too comfortable transacting on electronic channels through their phones without taking precautionary measures and so it has become necessary for software/app developers to protect their apps.
“Online fraud is moving to mobile because so many people do not have anti-virus or anti-malware installed on their phones,” Fadairo said. “We are so lax with our mobile phones compared to all the steps we take to make sure that our desktops and laptops are safe. There are so many apps that we download without even knowing what we are downloading.”
The decline in prices of gadgets has opened access to cheap smartphones for all, including ICT illiterates, and has fuelled the speedy adaptation of mobile applications.
With app developers earning 50-70 percent of retail price via the app store platforms of Apple, Windows, Google, Blackberry, Nokia and others, incubating young genuine developers could have significant multiplier effect domestically, as more and more technology-inclined youths look to app development and software programming.
“Online fraudsters find the easiest channels to operate on and cannot be bothered with spending so much time trying to hack into protected web portals. Currently, the mobile phones seem to be the easiest channel, especially with most people having their banking apps, emails, contacts, pictures and other important information on their smartphones,” said Tunde Ogunniyi, head of card and e-banking at Ecobank.
David Isiavwe, general manager, Union Bank, said that online fraudsters are moving to newer and easier portals to conduct criminal activities and the traditional web fraud is gradually dying.
NIBBS statistics show that “ATM recorded the highest volume of frauds in 2015 followed by POS. This relationship may not be unconnected to the fact that fraudsters leverage on both platform to utilise the proceeds of fraud. The third most utilised channel is the web.”
Global mobile app store revenues are projected to reach $189 billion by 2020, primarily driven by growth of mobile subscriber base, strong mobile broadband penetration and rising sales of smartphones. Hence, industry watchers are concerned about the security and regulation of app development and download, especially in Nigeria where there is high rate of cybercrime.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
