Nigeria’s House of Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes held a Public Hearing on the draft legislation for Cyber Security and Information Protection Agency on Wednesday, July 8, 2009.

 

Key issues and Recommendations of the African Information Security Association (AISA):

Recommendations from the African Information Security Association (AISA)

Having established the Bill has a critical role to play on the issues of computer security in the sustainable development of Africa;

Having further examined the need for a strategy to campaign against Cybercrime in Nigeria:

Makes the following recommendations:

1. The Bill should make provisions for the development of a body of knowledge on Computer security in Nigeria by supporting research and development efforts in Nigerian Universities and Training Centres. To this end the Agency should be adequately funded to be able to meet this target.
2. The Human Capital requirements to effectively monitor Nigeria’s cyberspace is huge and the demands unlimited, as cybercrime is a daily challenge. We therefore urge the provision of relevant sections of the Bill to address human capital requirements. It is also important that there is standardization in Computer security and cyber-security education. A Standing Accreditation Body should therefore be endowed with the responsibility of accrediting Computer Security and Cyber-security educational institutions, to ensure that the knowledge base and resource pool are actually relevant to the needs of the country.
3. Our National Cyberspace is a National Asset , it is therefore recommended that the Agency must be situated under the Presidency in the Office of the National Security Agency. However, adequate provisions such as a quarterly Consultative Forum with relevant stakeholders in the Private Sector, Educational Institutions, Civil Society Groups and Security Agencies.
4. For Nigeria to be a key player in 2020 we must promote global competitiveness by addressing information security concerns. The Agency therefore must be proactive in the discharge of its duties.
5. The Bill/Agency should encourage the development of local security software using open source alternatives for developing information security expertise and solutions in Nigeria;
6. Promote Research and Development innovations in the area of information security;
7. Facilitate information security solutions and expertise by law enforcement agencies and member of the judiciary; The Evidence law in Nigeria therefore needs to be revised to take into cognizance the developments in ICT and Computer law.
8. Encourage the integration of security concepts and features in software development;
9. The agency should especially focus on developing solutions that enable safe surfing of the internet by Nigerian Children.
10. Provide information security training or career opportunities for the youth and women;
11. Promote awareness, education and training in information security at all levels of education-primary, secondary and tertiary.
12. Promote information security legislation and regulations to protect users;
13. The Agency should provide an Annual Survey on Information Security with a view to developing strategies to counter information security threats; especially in view of the fact that cyber terrorism is now a possibility.
14. Encourage the development of local Information security solutions and expertise;
15. The Agency needs to leverage on global best practices in Information security protection. We therefore recommend that a collaborative arrangement with developed countries such as the FBI in the US is critical.
16. The agency should also regulate the industry by ensuring that Law Enforcement, Intelligence agencies and Private sector operators especially Banks, Financial institutions and Service providers make adequate investments in information security including appointing competent personnel;
17. The Agency should create a Special Funding vehicle to support the development of new information security technologies.
18. The qualification of the Director-General (not Executive Chairman, its an agency of government – in good corporate governance you cannot have an Executive Chairman) should be extended to Computer Professionals who are experts in Cyber security and Systems audit. Such a person must also be a member of the regulatory body of ICT Professions in Nigeria, Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) and the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) and must have demonstrated adequate leadership qualities in previous responsibility.

 

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