Expect exponential growth in cyber risks, expert warns
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE ongoing cyber security awareness marked in the every October in Nigeria, a cyber security expert, Olumuyiwa Awosile has warned that cyber security risks would escalate in years to come.
Awosile, the managing director of Tros Technologies, told Business a.m. the projected hike in cyber attacks would be occasioned by growth in the penetration of Internet of Things (IoT), among other factors.
He said, “We should all prepare for a future that requires cyber security consciousness in everything we do.
“IoT is one of the new technologies that will shape the future and that technology will connect billions more of our day to day appliances and not just computers and smartphones to the internet. This implies that there will be an exponential increase in cyber security risks.”
Awosile, however, noted that these risks can be mitigated by deploying the right tools and proper education of users.
He said the users, sometimes, are the weakest link due to their vulnerability to the social engineering schemes that can be used by attackers to breach even the most fortified of cyber defenses.
He noted that in the past, cyber-attacks had been aimed at large corporations but in the last few years with the ransomware attacks becoming more prevalent, businesses, large and small, are now vulnerable to cyber attacks.
He said the scourge is costing the economy billions as most attacks are usually not reported in spite of the huge economic loss that they cause.
Awosile also stated that lately, cyber attacks have been more targeted to large enterprises and financial institutions as cyber criminals stand to gain a lot more from them if they succeed.
In dealing with the menace, he said, “In Nigeria’s case, the government has enacted legislation with very stiff penalties for people who are found guilty of information security breaches.
“This is supposed to act as a deterrent to those who might want to engage in information security breaches from within or outside an organization.”
He however identified the need for the government still to do more to raise the level of awareness about the cyber security risks that businesses and citizens face on a daily basis.
He said as businesses begin to move their infrastructure into the cloud to save costs, it has become even more critical that cloud service providers are able to reassure their customers about the security and the integrity of their cloud infrastructure.
According to him, “Digital transformation has to be a priority of every business that wants to assure its long term survival and as this transformation affects every facet of a business, cyber security becomes extremely important as internal and external transactions are increasingly being carried out online.
“The Nigerian market is becoming increasingly aware of the cyber security risks that businesses are facing on a daily basis and effort is being made to address them through sensitization and awareness campaigns.”