CBN, others seek passage of cyber security bill into law

[TGD]

 THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), among others, have urged the National Assembly to revisit the anti-cyber crime bill before it with a view to passing it into law to check the menace said to have negative effects on the nation's economy.

It was gathered that the cyber security bill was stepped down by both arms of the National Assembly, claiming that it will be competing with an existing law at the Assembly and a bill from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also awaiting passage into law.

According to the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, modern economies depend largely on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, which is susceptible to a lot of vulnerabilities, which can be exploited either negatively or positively. He said the passage of the bill into law and proper legislation would help clip the wing of these notorious trends, adding that cyber security products are imported into the country with negative implications on national security.

Sanusi, while giving a keynote address at a forum with the theme: "Promoting Economic Development through Effective Cyber Security" in Lagos at the weekend, added that Nigeria would be subject to various vulnerabilities, especially, cyber crimes, as the nation deploys more ICT infrastructure to support her development. He stressed that the increasing complexity of business, increasing volumes of transaction, changes in financial services, globalization and the attendant risks, need to reduce the increasing cost of doing business, among others, must embrace legislation to ensure their functionality.

"The legislature can leverage on ICT to formulate appropriate legislation in line with international best practices to deal effectively with cyber crime," Sanusi stated, noting that cyber security can be promoted through adoption of appropriate technologies, legislation, design, implementation and enforcement of security policies and standards.

Sanusi, who was represented by Paul Nwachukwu, a director at CBN, noted emphatically that the increasing rate of cyber crime committed in cyber space using electronic devices by processes and procedures, has become a global phenomenon which requires concerted global action.

"The possibilities and consequences of cyber crime are many and threatening the survival of corporate organisations and even individual ones", stressed Sanusi.

On measures put in place to curb this menace, Sanusi hinted that the CBN has established a Risk Management Department to deal with industry risks and has also transited from compliance-based supervision to risk-based supervision.

Lending credence to the call for the passage of the cyber security bill, the Director General of NITDA, Prof. Cleopas Angaye noted that despite the enormous benefits of information technology, a major challenge threatening the benefits of electronic transactions has been in the area of cyber crimes, which encompasses any criminal act dealing with computers and networks.

Angaye, who stressed the need for effective cyber security through proper legislation in order to enhance the economic development of the country, said that this should be in the front burner of the socio-economic development agenda of any country.

 

Speaking on the challenges of the Cyber Security bill, the Special Adviser on Cyber security, office of the National Security Adviser, Basil Udotai, said, "the bill had been stepped down by the National Assembly, but we are on course to ensure that the purpose of the bill is better understood by the legislators and that it will not in any way compete with an existing law or bill by the EFCC. We shall revisit the bill later."

The spokesman for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Reuben Mouka said "the bill has been stepped down as I have heard. But I believe that the legislators need a lot of enlightenment because if they understand the dimension and the critical nature of that bill, it won't be in that state. However, stepping it down does not mean it is out, it only means we shall revisit it another day. I am sure that by the time they revisit it, which I know they would do, given the increasing negative influence it is bringing to the country, they will have better understanding on the implication of the bill on the economy."

 

 

 



Source: CBN, others seek passage of cyber security bill into law