Stakeholders in Nigeria recently gathered at a Cyber Security Workshop Themed: “DDoS Evolution – Staying Protected” to x-ray ways to boost cybersecurity within the country.
The event which was organized by the Information Security Society of Africa-Nigeria (ISSAN) in collaboration with 21st Century Technologies Ltd was held at the 21st Century Technologies Limited SOC Centre, Lekki, Lagos.
While welcoming stakeholders at the Workshop, David Isiavwe, the President of ISSAN, decried the worsening state of cybersecurity in the country.
He said, “Those who watch the cyberspace closely will all agree that there is a lot of happenings each and every day. New forms of attacks are being contrived and implemented by the bad guys, and all they need is one successful attempt.
“We hear of all the various attacks both on individuals and companies alike. Indeed, even the cybersecurity gatekeepers are not spared. And huge sums of money are at risk each time there is a successful attack.”
Isiavwe who is also the Group Head Operations & Technology, Ecobank Nig. Ltd further lamented the fact that everyone and every institution is susceptible to these attacks as social engineering attack is unrelenting, data-based manipulation-insiders and outsiders are on the rise, attack on card data and card processing technology infrastructure via rogue IT infrastructure, spear-phishing attack and combination of different methodologies are rampant.
He therefore called on all stakeholders to be proactive, create customer awareness activities, continuous and automated monitoring of systems and infrastructure, employment of AI and Machine Learning as well as robotics and data analytics. He also called on collaborations between all stakeholders.
Speaking on the theme of the workshop in a keynote address, Long Lee Shih – DDoS Security Expert, Nexusguard Ltd, also explained how individuals and organisations can avoid being victims of cyberattacks, including Origin Protection (OP) for large networks, among others.
His keynote address was followed by a robust plenary session that included Wale Obadare, MD/COO, Digital Encode Ltd; Long Lee Shih, Ighoakpo Eduje, Chief Information Security Officer, Heritage Bank Ltd; Igboa Abumere, Chief Information Security Officer, Stanbic IBTC Bank; Bharat Soni, Chief Information Security Officer, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and David Isiavwe.
The Information Security Society of Africa – Nigeria is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the protection of Nigeria’s cyberspace. It also involved in ensuring the security of Banking Systems and applications, ATMs, e-government systems and the entire cyberspace in Nigeria.
Membership for the body cuts across both public and private sectors of the economy including Banks, Telecommunications Operators, Government parastatals, switching companies, IT and IT Security Consultancies, Legal Practitioners with a keen interest in cyber-related matters as well as regulators.
