By Joyce Remi-Babayeju
The ECOWAS Commission’s Directorate of Digital Economy with support from the European Union has trained staffs on Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes.
The EU which funded the ECOWAS project – Organised Crime: West African Response on Cyber-security and fight against Cybercrime (OCWAR-C), reiterated its commitment to educate ECOWAS staff on the risks in the cyberspace.
The training held at the Commission’s Hall in Abuja was aimed at sensitizing staff on cyber-security and digital technology.
Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy & Digitalisation, Dr. Kouame Raphael Koffi, stated that the use of technology has paved the way for criminals to use the internet to conduct cybercrimes.
He recounted the FBI report ranked Nigeria as among the top twenty (20) countries in the world targeted by cybercrime in 2020.
Dr. Koffi disclosed that in 2021, cybercrime reduced the GDP of Africa by 10%, estimated at four (4) billion US dollars, including the private and public institutions.
According to him, more than 90% of human error have being known to also cause Cyber crime, adding that why the Directorate of Digital Economy & Post has sensitised it’s staff on the importance of good digital hygiene.
The cyber campaign provided insights into why the Commission needs to increase and strengthen its efforts to ensure staff online activities are protected within ECOWAS Institutions and Agencies.
Presentations were made on a number of different cyber-security incidents, tactics and methods used to steal data, hack accounts, disseminate false and fake information and corrupt organisations networks and different steps to take to avoid or protect individuals or organisations from these cybercriminals.
Participatants were drawn from the European Union Delegation in Nigeria and ECOWAS and Expertise France the implementing agency for the OCWAR-C project.
