the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullah, has disclosed that cybercrime costs Nigeria N200 billion annually.
When he led the management team of NITDA to the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to discuss ways to institutionalize cyber security insurance throughout the nation, the DG made these remarks.
Inuwa claims that almost every adult in Nigeria carries “a super computer in his or her hand or pockets,” exposing them to cybercrime and criminals.
The DG stated that as of today, the figures have increased to approximately $8 trillion and will reach $10.5 trillion by 2025, while citing some reports that the global cyber crime as of 2021 was almost $6 trillion and projected to grow by 15% annually.
“If you can quantify cybercrime as a nation, it will be the third largest economy and cost more than all crimes taken together.
In light of this, Inuwa stated, “We need to institutionalize Cyber Insurance because Nigeria loses about N200 billion to cyber crime annually. Imagine that just 0.0 percent of the Nation’s GDP is worth more than N200 billion.”
“Looking at this and the rate services are being digitized, combined with the push for government digital services and COVID-19, the pace we are digitising has been accelerated,” Inuwa stated. As a result, the future is coming sooner than expected.
The DG who stressed the significance of getting the Protection, affirmed that while, the commission has the essential command of protection, the Organization likewise has specific orders connecting with digital protection, remembering advancement of Data Innovation for Nigeria which Network safety is a basic part.
The NITDA Boss expressed the hope that Nigeria will be well-positioned to mitigate recurring losses once insurance is obtained, and that the ecosystem and system quality will be strengthened and upgraded, respectively.
“Accomplishing this accomplishment will likewise mean reinforcing designers of frameworks to up their game, by taking it through series of tests prior to taking their items to the market.
“Cyber insurance has been institutionalized in many countries, including Africa; Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa have done so. The DG continued, “I think it is the right time for us also to institutionalize Cyber Insurance in Nigeria. Looking at our status as the largest economy in Africa, having the most vibrant digital ecosystem, and having the digital economy that is growing at the fastest rate.”
The Magistrate for Protection/CEO of the Public Protection Commission (NAICOM), Olorundare Sunday Thomas who gave a sign of approval for the proposition presented by the NITDA DG, noticed that he has forever been conversing with important partners to take a gander at the positive side of dangers related with innovation.
“If there is any economy that ought to be more concerned about cybercrime, it ought to be Nigeria because of the magnitude and impact of the economy, the cost of data, the volume of data generated each day, and the magnitude of the data.
Thomas continued, “We must also seize the opportunity to increase our workforce.” He said, “The more we look forward to using technology to resolve many problems.”
The CFI reassured the NITDA team that the Commission was willing to work with the Agency to put cyber insurance into place.
The establishment of a committee consisting of six members, three from each organization, to determine the mode of operation and develop the terms of reference was decided upon unanimously by both teams, who were eager to get started.
