• ‘Current cyber laws can’t help the financial system’
• Ministers admit govt agencies exposed
• Experts want FG to scale up cybersecurity architecture
• Call for personnel training, more awareness
About two weeks after Anonymous, a network of global hacktivists launched an aggressive campaign in Nigeria, commercial banks have begun panic update of their server.
The banks, The Guardian has gathered, have started a panic system overhaul to protect sensitive data, including customers’ information.
Amidst the server upgrade frenzy, experts have warned that, except inclusive measures are adopted, the possibility of Nigeria suffering a worse cyber attack is imminent.
Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mohammed Abdullahi, confirmed the recent threat, saying there were coordinated attacks on sensitive government databases.
Abdullahi’s counterpart at the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, had also acknowledged that some websites of some government agencies were compromised.
Pantami disclosed that the ministry and its agencies, in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), were fortifying the nation’s IT security wall.
The Guardian had reported that the recent alleged cyber attack on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other public institutions caused apprehension in the financial service industry with Information Technology (IT) personnel and top executives working to upscale the firewall of the servers.
The Guardian was reliably informed that the threat by Anonymous, which launched a campaign in solidarity with #EndSARS protesters about two weeks ago, had exposed banks’ vulnerability to cyber-attack. It was also learnt that many of the banks were deploying new cutting-edge security software to protect their servers.
He added that the unit worked with hired external experts “under strict instruction from the managing director” who warned repeatedly that cybersecurity must not be compromised.
Asked about the financial cost of the system upgrade, the source said, even the IT personnel were “not privy to the amount spent” and that only top executives would know. Considering the scope of work carried out, coupled with the profiles of the experts hired. The source added that the budget would certainly run into hundreds of millions.
ANOTHER source at a new generation bank said his bank was not threatened in any way because “it is considered as a small bank.” The source, however, said the bank did a system upgrade shortly before Anonymous struck.
“Besides, the feeling that they could not have targeted us because of our size, we did not panic as we just did an overhaul. But that does not mean we have taken the threat in the industry for granted.
“We are very vigilant. If there is any need for an upgrade, we will move into action quickly because nobody wants to expose customer data to an external threat, not when Anonymous is mentioned.”
Many banks have, in the past two weeks, sent messages informing depositors that they were halting online operations to enable them effect system upgrade.
Even after the 48 hours elapsed, it sent another message apologising for the “inconvenience” it caused its customers while it was yet to resume online operation.
On Wednesday, the same operator sent an email notifying customers that transaction alerts would “be delayed or not received at all” in the meantime.
MEANWHILE, cybersecurity and technology analysts, who spoke with The Guardian yesterday, said the porous status of Nigeria’s cyberspace and ineffective implementation of the Cybercrime Act 2015 was responsible for the country’s high vulnerability.
