“Cyber Security and Protection of Privacy Rights is a Journey, not a Destination” Danbatta

The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Professor Umar Danbatta said the notion of cyber security and protection of privacy rights under the cyber law is a journey and not a destination, and therefore called on all stakeholders to make Nigeria to move faster and steadily in the journey.

Danbatta stated this while contributing as a panelist at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference (AGC) in Lagos, in a paper titled: THE BUSINESS OF CYBER LAW, INTERNET POLICY AND PRIVACY RIGHTS.

At the Conference, thematically focused on AFRICAN BUSINESSES: PENETRATING THROUGH INSTITUTION BUILDING, Danbatta said that rapid developments in the ICT sector and the attendant challenges of security and privacy rights demand greater collaboration of all stakeholders to deal with all threats.

Despite the provisions of extant laws and regulations, including initiatives and interventions by NCC and other agencies in the ICT and other sectors, which he enumerated in his paper, Danbatta said Nigeria lost 127 billion naira to cybercrime in 2015, ranking third highest after United States and the United Kingdom. Concerned that this reality is facing us frontally despite the huge potential of ICT for development, Danbatta said the promise of ICT as an enabler of development explains the prominence of the promotion of ICT Innovation and Investment Opportunities in the NCC Management’s 8-Point Agenda. He went further to state that the item 5 of the Agenda which speaks to the centrality of Strategic Collaboration and Partnership underscores NCC’s readiness to forge alliances with relevant institutions on all fronts connected to its mandate.

Accordingly, he appealed that NBA and other advocacy groups to support the awareness campaigns toward the speedy passage of a harmonised data protection law for Nigeria.

Danbatta also recommended data end-to-end encryption and back up; as well as the strengthening of the capacity of agencies in the security sector and in the administration of justice to monitor and enforce the existing laws.
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