The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has concluded plans to establish an internet industry code of practice for internet service providers in Nigeria.
Ismail Adedigba, the commission’s deputy director, consumer affairs bureau, disclosed this at the 106th edition of consumer outreach programme organised by the commission in Benin City, the Edo State capital, with the theme, “mitigating effects of cyber crimes: the roles of telecom consumers.”
According to Adedigba, the internet code is a regulatory intervention expected to secure the country’s cyber space against imminent threats from cyber attackers as well as addressing issues such as online child protection, privacy and data protection, among others.
He noted that the liberalisation of the telecoms industry had led to an unprecedented increase in the usage of internet-based solutions and services.
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He explained that, while the regulatory intervention and other initiatives were ongoing to sanitise the internet space, telecoms consumers must also play their role to ensure that the right things were being done to sanitise the industry.
The NCC deputy director said the awareness campaign was geared towards sensitising telecoms consumers on the rising wave of cyber crime in its various forms, the dangers it posed and the role telecoms consumers were expected to play in reducing the impacts of cyber crimes on them.
In his opening remarks, Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, said the various initiatives of the commission had helped to guarantee improved services and value for money spent on telecoms services for the consumers.
Onwuegbuchulam, also represented by Ismail Adedigba, who noted that the telecoms consumer were the ultimate beneficiaries of the initiative, posited that the theme of the outreach was to highlight the threats of cyber crime to all users of telecoms services and to sensitise the consumers on the role they need to play in order to be protected from the prying eyes of cyber criminals and hackers.
According to Onwuegbuchulam, without any doubt, consumers are important stakeholders in the current cyber space, where individual and corporate users of telecom devices often make use of the internet in our connected world.
“It is our beliefs as a commission that without consumers becoming aware of cyber crime trends and making efforts to ensure safe use of connected devices, cyber criminals will continue to make cyberspace unsafe.
“Cyber space covers everything consumers do online or with computing devices including mobile phones, tablets and personal computers. Today, businesses and individuals in every country rely on information and communication technology for their day-to-day activities, where internet is playing a key role in interconnectivity of devices,” she said.
Onwuegbuchulam, who said cyber crime was on the increase, urged service providers to come out with measures they have put in place on their various networks and roles consumers should play towards safeguarding them from effects of cyber crimes.
