Michael Malakata
29.01.2010 kl 17:35 | IDG News Service
An upsurge in African cybercrime targeting the financial sector threatens to derail the rollout of Internet banking and electronic commerce services and has forced the Nigerian government to raise an alarm over the vulnerability of the country's ICT infrastructure.
Nigeria joins other countries in Africa, including Zambia and Kenya, in warning about problems for online banking as a result of cybercrime.
Africa is experiencing an explosion of mobile money services as banks and mobile providers compete for customers who would otherwise not have a bank account. This has increased phishing attacks on unsuspecting customers, in efforts to lure them to fake sites.
Cybercrime in the region has further increased following the landing last year of the SEACOM and TEAMS international cables, which are starting to lower bandwidth and Internet connectivity costs.
Nigeria now wants to formulate a legal framework for national cybercrime prevention, while the Zambian government already has enacted a law that could see a convicted hacker being sent to prison for up to 25 years.
Nigeria is Africa's largest telecom market by investment and subscribers and the country now wants to work with other nations in the region on cybercrime prevention and warning systems.
- Currently, very few banks that provide Internet services are able to also offer security software to curb cybersecurity attacks.
- Phishing attacks aimed at bank customers feature unsolicited messages instructing users to follow a link to confirm their account information, as a way for criminals to obtain passwords and user identities.
Sylvester Anyanwu, Nigerian Senate Communications Committee chairman, said in an e-mail interview that "Nigeria, which has 90 percent wireless ICT infrastructure, is very vulnerable to cyber attacks. But we are preparing to ensure the country does not become hostage to cyber criminals."
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