‘WannaCry’ cyber attack: Nigeria must be more vigilant —Experts

In the wake of the recent   outbreak of a cyber-attack called, ‘Ransomware Virus,’ better  known as ‘WannaCry,’ Nigerians have been warned to be more proactive in order to forestall future occurrence of such massive attack that is capable of causing economic and financial setbacks for the country and the people.

The WannaCry ransomware attack is an ongoing worldwide cyber attack by the WannaCry ransomware cryptoworm, which targets computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system by encrypting data and demanding ransom payments in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency.

The attack started on Friday,  May 12, 2017, and has been described as unprecedented in scale, infecting more than 300,000 computers in over 150 countries. Parts of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), Spain’s Telefónica, FedEx and Deutsche Bahn were hit, along with many

This is just as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) declared that Nigeria was free from the “WannaCry” ransomware attack  but called for sustained security from stakeholders to forestall future attacks.

Dr Isa Ibrahim, the Director-General of NITDA said this in a statement issued by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Cooperate Affairs and External Relations over the weekend in Abuja.

Ibrahim, however, said that Nigeria was spared following sensitisation from relevant stakeholders.

But experts have posited that Nigerians and the government have not done enough to show that they are ready for this type or any cyber attack of any nature.

“It is a wakeup call for Nigeria that we have to improve our expertise in the area of Cyber Security. There is no guarantee that Nigeria will not be included in a global attack the next time around. However, on a daily basis Nigeria’s institutions are being attacked on the cyber space, so there is the need to take urgent steps to protect our critical infrastructures, “ said Engineer Ikechukwu Nnamani,  the President and Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Communications Limited.

According to Nnamani, the world is now a global village and interconnected and as a member of the global economy, Nigeria cannot isolate herself from the rest of the world when it comes to ICT.

“If we are ill-prepared to play in this arena we will suffer major financial and reputational losses when our platforms are found wanting during attacks. We must approach the securing of our cyber space with seriousness and get the right expertise needed to ensure all critical institutions are protected.

“The Federal Government should ensure they create platforms where the citizens are trained in best practices to avoid cyber attack. The various agencies like NCC, NITDA, etc should create CERTs/CSIRTs to monitor and quickly respond to cyber threats.”