A
major impact of globalization in our society today is that we all have come to
rely on the sheer size technological power and fast speed of the internet to
seek out immeasurable volumes of information to explore the unknown to
communicate with virtually anyone, anywhere and at any time across the globe.
According to researchers, at the turn of the 21st century due to the advent of
mobile telephones, Nigerian Internet penetration levels took a running jump
from less than 5% in 2002 – 2003, to over 30% by the end of 2012 with the
growth poised to continually accelerate. These internet based platforms have provided
an array of opportunities for individuals to communicate and network with
people of diverse cultures all over the world; it has aided local business to
grow by providing regional and international markets and it is shrinking the
world into one small community. However, irrespective of these gains associated
with the internet revolution, it comes with it several ills especially with
regards to cyber-crime.
The
menace of cyber-crime has eaten deep into the fabrics of our society and poses
threats to the socioeconomic development of the country. It is pertinent to
state here that although cyber-crime is a global phenomenon, the vulnerabilities
and impact trends do tend to differ depending on the strength of the measures
each country put in place to combat menace such as cyber laws and cyber
protection technologies. Sadly, as shown in the arguments above, Nigeria ranks
high amongst the cyber-crime impacted countries however the country’s response
to mitigate cyber-crime is still very low due to inadequate cyber-crime legislation, limited technology and lack of cyber security experts. The
shortage of human capital in cyber-security hence becomes a major vulnerability
factor in addressing Nigeria’s security needs to combat cyber-crime and cyber
threats emanating from cyber criminals. According to researches the Indian government is earmarking to develop
five million cyber security experts in the next three years, while North Korea
has already sponsored 15, 000 cyber security experts with China having over 25
million cyber commandoes; with Nigeria needing nothing less than one million
cyber security experts in the next two years to combat cyber-crimes. This should
be supported by aggressive mass sensitization of the citizenry on the nature,
schemes and tactics utilized by cyber-criminals as a means of reducing their
vulnerability.
OPINION: Efforts by the government and the citizenry
geared towards curbing cyber-crimes must be reinvigorated as cyber security is
crucial for maintaining the continuity of vital social services, preservation
of public trust in information systems and promotion of socio-economic
development in Nigeria.
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