IT NEWS NIGERIA:
Executivre Vice Chairman (EVC) of Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has revealed that, the nation through the agency, is partnering with International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to set up Africa Regional Cybersecurity Center (RCC) in Abuja.
Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta said yesterday at the Opening ceremony of the week-long 27th session of AFINIC meeting themed “Taking the African Internet to the Next Level through Policy, Collaboration and Education” in Lagos.
He noted that “the center will be used for Africa Regional Cybersecurity information sharing for cyber-attacks, threats, malwares and viruses among others and also to train countries within the Africa sub-region on Cybersecurity related issues.”
The EVC also said as the internet evolves, so also does cybercrime. This remains an immense challenge for internet development in Africa and the entire world, crucial collaboration within sub-regional and regional needed and this is the key in preventing and mitigating cyber attracts.
“NCC is partnering with relevant agencies to provide proactive measures in mitigating cybercrime. The Commission is setting up a Sectorial Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) center that will collaborate with the ngCERT (domicile in the office of the NSA), in tackling issues that relate to the telecommunications industry in the fight against cybercrime. ”
The African Regional Internet Registry AFRINIC, he said, has contributed a lot in providing platforms for Internet Development in Africa, from about 4.5 million Internet Users in 2002 to over 388 Million users in 2017
The growth of the Internet Industry in Africa, comes with the challenge of sustaining its development to ensure that the industry maintains global relevance and contends with challenges of low Internet penetration.
To stimulate this growth and harness the opportunities of technological advancement, massive investment in internet infrastructures is needed, particularly broadband, which will enable job creation, economic growth, and global competitiveness. This can be achieved through sustainable policies and collaborative efforts.
To support emerging technologies, “we need to create an enabling environment for IPv6 deployment,” he said, adding “we need to engage more in the area of Internet Governance and other similar initiatives from national to sub-regional to regional and global to contribute and share best practices that can help to grow the internet.”
