ECOWAS Plans War On Cybercrimes

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)  says it is working with member states to enhance strategies in cyber security for economic development in the region.
ECOWAS Commissioner for Telecommunications and Information Technologies, Dr Isaias Barreto da Rosa said this in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
The commissioner said that the development of the ECOWAS cyber security agenda was aimed at helping member states put in place the right legislation to develop necessary cyber security strategies.
According to him, the agenda is also aimed at training judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement agents on investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes.
He also noted that West African countries were losing financially to the scourge of cybercrimes.
“We have a serious problem in the region when it comes to cyber security because many of our countries are listed in prominent positions in international cyber crimes ranking.
“That is why we are working on the ECOWAS cyber security agenda to also help member states that do not have Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTS) put such teams in place,” he said.
He explained that these CERTS were critical to monitoring the cyber security environment within a country, make recommendations and assist in ensuring a safer cyber environment within a country.
Bareto da Rosa further reiterated that the harmonisation of national regulatory framework and policies would facilitate and promote cooperation among ICT stakeholders across member states.
Cybercrime, or computer crime is crime that involves a computer and network.
Computer crime encompasses a broad range of activities such as fraud and financial crimes, cyber terrorism, computer viruses and malware that primarily target computer networks or devices, among others.
According to the United Nations, cybercrime covers any illegal behaviour directed by means of electronic operations that targets the security of computer systems and the data processed by them.
SciDev.Net, a website on science and technology information, noted that a widely accepted estimate puts cybercrime costs on the world economy at 500 billion dollars.
It also noted that according to estimates, cybercrime costs the Nigerian economy the sum of 500 million dollars per annum.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd, in its quarterly global Threat Index report, revealed that in May 2016, Nigeria ranked 16th in cyber attacks vulnerability index in Africa.
Check Point is the largest global pure-play network cyber security vendor, and its Threat Index provides a data-based breakdown of new and prevalent threats; as well as the relative rankings of countries’ risk profiles globally.
Its report further revealed that Nigeria also ranked 19th out of the 112 countries on the overall global index.
According to the report, there are four African countries in the top 10 of the index which are Malawi, Djibouti, Namibia and Angola.
It also showed disparities in the threat environments in Africa, and the potential for increased attacks as cybercriminals target mobile devices.

Experts have also emphasised that cyber crime may be the greatest threat to every organisation in the world.