A file photo of Professor Isa Ali Pantami
The Federal Government says about 13million hacking attempts were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria before, during and after the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
A statement by Mrs Uwa Suleiman, spokesperson to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami says, the Federal Government indicated that monitoring Nigeria’s Cyberspace showed that there were threats but they were blocked and prevented by a Special Committee on Cyber Security.
The statement indicates that the run-up to the 2023 General Elections, threat intelligence revealed an astronomical increase in cyber threats to Nigerian cyberspace on public websites and portals which averaged around 1,550,000 daily.
It says the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS) alongside Communication, Digital Economy sector and MDA’s in line with its mandate are constantly monitoring the Nigerian cyberspace for potential threats and taking appropriate actions to mitigate them.
The Minister says in a build up towards the 25th February Presidential Elections, the Federal Government inaugurated the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure which detected hacking attacks such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks.
The Minister however assured investors, businesses, citizens and residents of the safety of the Nigerian cyberspace from cyber bandits.
Writing by Olayemi Daniyan; Editing by Chinasa Ossai & Adeniyi Bakare