Asseco cautions on network security against cybercrime

In efforts to curb the menace of cybercrime in the country, Asseco Nigeria, an Information Technology (IT) company has warned Internet users, particularly government agencies, financial and eCommerce sites to secure their networks to avert any losses.

The company, which made the call recently in Lagos, at the launch of Certum Certificate Authority in Nigeria, reiterated that the country according to the 2014 cybercrime report by McAfee, loses N127 billion yearly to the menace.

According to Asseco, the figure as stated by the National Security Agency (NSA), is equivalent to the entire cement industry in the country, which also amounts to 0.80 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Business Development Manager, Asseco Nigeria, Peter Uka, noted that cybercrime has moved from basic websites hacking and stolen of users’ data to more sophisticated methods of targeting eCommerce sites, financial, tertiary institutions, insurance companies, and government parastatals among others.

He noted that the situation, which poses a great danger to most web users like insurance and financial companies, are seldom reported for lack of losing public trust. “Most of them only try to secure their networks after they have been victims of those cyber fraudsters.”

This growing concern, Uka, said has necessitated the need for more stringent measures to secure web users’ networks, as a survey by Kaspersky Lab, showed that 45.3 per cent of Internet users in Nigeria suffered some form of attack in the third quarter of 2015.
According to him, “security for ecommerce sites and financial institution especially is no longer a luxury, because it has become imperative that all businesses and organisations of all sizes have at least basic protection for their web assets and communication channels to forestall the menace of cybercrime.”

However, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asseco Nigeria, Simon Melchoir, maintained that the launch of Certum Certificate Authority locally is geared towards arresting the situation in the best way possible since an absolute network security is not obtainable.

He expatiated that Certum provides some sophisticated technologies like Secure Socket Layer (SSL/TLS) certificates, email encryption and code signing certificates, which secure websites and email and document communication from getting to the wrong hands.