Ransomware emerges new financial cyber threat, says NeFF

The Nigeria Electronic Fraud Forum (NeFF) has alerted on the emergence of a new cyber threat against the financial system popularly named as “Ransomware”.
 
The new cyber Crime also described as “electronic kidnapping” is an act of holding the computer system of an organisation to ransom or taking hostage the system electronically and demanding that ransom be paid, before data in the system can be assessed.
 
The Director of Banking and Payments System Department of CBN, Dipo Fatokun, said although the virus is not a threat for now in the Nigeria’s e-payment space, the fact that it has been reported in Ghana, is another reason for NeFF to take proactive step to enlighten stakeholders “because we do not want it to happen here.”
 
Fatokun, who is also the Chairman of the group, at its meeting, said that the effect of Ransomware on any bank in Nigeria would have negative effect on the customers and financial system in general and “we don’t want it to happen in Nigeria, that is why we are putting preventive measures in place.”
 
Meanwhile, NeFF said that the immediate establishment of a dedicated Electronic Payment and Card Crime Unit within the Nigeria Police Force is topmost in its 2016 agenda.
 
Fatokun, who disclosed this over the weekend in Lagos said the reason why NeFF is requesting this is that apprehension and prosecution of fraudsters has not been properly carried out in Nigeria.

“So we believe that with this unit running in the Nigerian police force, the level of apprehension and prosecution of fraudsters will increase. This will serve as a deterrent and also help the apex bank’s efforts at combating rising electronic fraud in the country. So, it is top on the list,” he said.
 
He also said that the forum would be collaborating more with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States of America, not only on the use of Nigerian cards abroad, but on combating electronic fraud in Nigeria.
 
His words: “These are the things we hope to do this year. We are sure and hopeful that if we are able to meet these priorities, it will help us in reducing further, the spate of electronic fraud in Nigeria.