How we plan to create 3 million cybersecurity-related jobs in Nigeria - NGO Group

A number of organizations faced difficulties in 2023 as a result of the widespread cyberattacks that exposed sensitive data, caused significant losses, and interrupted services. Several industries were the focus of these well-publicized attacks, including those that didn't believe they were the intended targets.

These attacks were primarily made worse by the severe economic conditions, human desperation, insider cooperation, and holes in information security skills. 

Increasing public knowledge of cyber dangers is necessary to reduce cybercrime in Nigeria. This plays a crucial role in narrowing the perception gap about cybercrime and decreasing the number of susceptible people who become victims of criminal schemes. Robust awareness campaigns require a multisectoral collaborative strategy involving the government, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. Public service announcements, workshops, and educational initiatives should all be a part of these efforts.

The main goals should be to empower people to recognize phishing attempts, protect personal information, and use safe online practices.

The non-governmental Center for Cohesion and Development (CCD), which advocates for cyber hygiene and cybersecurity, has revealed a proposal to employ millions of Nigerian youth in information security roles.

The Group's Lead Director, Dr. Uche Igwe, spoke briefly during a ceremony that was attended by a limited group of journalists and civil society members. He explained that the surge in cybercrime worldwide presents a chance for young people in Nigeria to pursue career pathways in cybersecurity in order to close the skills gap. He claims that there is a severe global scarcity of cybersecurity experts. Current data suggests that the world needs at least four million cybersecurity specialists each year.

"We intend to make sure that Nigeria adds 500,000 skilled people to that pool annually. Over the following six years, that translates to 3 million employment. We currently have a strategy in place to make it happen. The Abuja Dialogue on Cybersecurity is being held in order to secure the support of pertinent parties, such as the government and civil society. The youth in our country possess extraordinary talent. What they really need are skills that can change their lives and open doors to the global labor market. The energy that some of them direct into cybercrime can be redirected toward constructive endeavors with the correct instruction, direction, and capacity building," according to Dr. Igwe.

The proposed dialogue has been rescheduled by the group to take place on September 3 and 4 at the BON Elvis Hotel Wuse 2.

The statewide protests that are planned to begin on August 1st caused this postponement, according to Ibrahim Lawal, the Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee.

The group expressed apologies for any hardships that participants and delegates who are traveling from near and far may have to endure in order to attend the Dialogue. The organization gave guarantees that pertinent parties might attend the meeting in order to discuss ways to develop a strong local cybersecurity workforce that could be exported both physically and online to other nations.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and the Nigerian Police National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) are among the organizations that support the Abuja Dialogue on Cybersecurity.

This event will serve as a preamble to the Africa Cyber Defense Forum, which is slated to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, on October 15–18, 2024.

The following are four steps to curb Cybersecurity;

1. Strengthening cybersecurity infrastructure: Building a robust national cybersecurity ecosystem requires overcoming obstacles to resource deployment. Combating international cybercrime syndicates requires cooperation and intelligence sharing at all levels. Collaborations with academic institutions, government agencies, and cybersecurity companies are crucial, as are investments in cutting-edge technology and cloud partnerships.
2. Capacity Building And Training Initiatives: Building cybersecurity capacity entails fostering a trained labour pool by offering programs to both aspiring and practicing IT workers. Scholarships, internships, and mentorship should be made available through partnerships with academic institutions and business executives to promote careers in cybersecurity. In the same vein, courses, certificates, and ongoing professional development may guarantee that IT specialists stay current with changing cybersecurity trends. Budgets should include a safety margin to enable the addition of more emerging cybersecurity talent in order to achieve this. This calculated strategy helps to build a strong, seasoned professional corps, which is essential as the world moves toward a more digital, artificial intelligence-driven society.
3. Legal reforms and Regulation: Effective cybercrime prevention will also depend on legislative and regulatory changes. Even if the 2015 Cybercrime Act is a good starting point, improvements are required to provide a complete national cybersecurity framework that supports international cooperation in cybercrime investigations and includes explicit punishments. Notable progress has been made in data rights and privacy with the Nigerian Data Protection Act. Prioritizing areas for improvement should involve advice from international organizations, cybersecurity specialists, and legal experts. Collaboration between engineering and governance is necessary to ensure compliance, with an emphasis on secure-by-design and secure-by-default principles in processes and architectures.

In conclusion, Nigeria's technological ecosystem has the potential to grow quickly, but only if cybercrime is addressed. Much more has to be done to guarantee both the security of stakeholders and the continued expansion of Nigeria's technology industry.