Olatunji Igbalajobi, an expert, says the advent of artificial intelligence in cyberspace has introduced new cybersecurity challenges.
Speaking to journalists in an interview in Lagos on Sunday, the cybersecurity expert said the advancements in AI were good, but they had implications for the country.
He said artificial intelligence (AI)-based fraud is expected to reach 350 billion between 2023 and 2027 globally.
Mr. Igbalajobi, a board member of the Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), spoke on the implications of the growing knowledge and adoption of artificial intelligence in the world, Nigeria not being left behind.
The expert said AI-based attacks are more adaptable and can bypass traditional security measures. He added that this evolution in cybercrime tactics makes defending against these threats more complex and demanding.
According to him, there are different attack methods within the AI application and environment, including data poisoning attacks and model evasion attacks, among others.
“An AI poisoning attack occurs when malicious actors inject malicious or corrupted data into training datasets, with the aim of tricking the AI into producing inaccurate results.
“Model evasion attacks, on the other hand, are when attackers feed the AI with adversarial examples in order to create inaccurate predictions,” he said.
He said this showed the need to prepare for what was to come, noting that many cyberattacks were underway and if care was not taken there would be financial consequences.
The expert also noted that the Nigerian Data Protection Regulations (NDPR) had attracted the attention of organizations in the supply chain and manufacturing industry to consider cybersecurity as an integral part of their organizations.
He explained that with this awareness, they were starting to get information about how cyberattacks were happening and how their industry might also be vulnerable to them.
On why adoption of cybersecurity has been slow, he said Nigerians were more reactive than proactive, noting that most organizations waited until they fell victim to cyberattacks before doing the needful.
The expert pointed out that the cost of mitigating cyberattacks is usually exorbitant, pointing out that companies end up spending triple the amount that should have been used to prevent them.
Mr. Igbalajobi also explained that sectoral collaboration between the public and private sectors was still not where it should be, saying the country had international partnerships with notable organizations around the world, which were trying to invest in cybersecurity of Nigeria.
The expert said these countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States, among others, were trying to see the opportunities that Nigeria and Africa as a whole could present in cybersecurity.
He urged the government to address the issue of limited funds, access to skills and technology, skilled manpower in terms of talent shortage, continuing education and infrastructure limitations for bridging the cybersecurity gap.
According to him, there is no doubt that Nigeria has a growing alignment of expertise, but the country’s challenge is losing most cybersecurity experts to the Western world.
“Most of them choose to go abroad because the environment there is more competitive and more favorable for employment.
“It is very unfortunate that we are losing our experts to the global community,” Mr. Igbalajobi said.
He added that the number of cybersecurity professionals leaving Nigeria would increase until the economic, political and social situation in Nigeria improves.
The cybersecurity expert, however, said there was a fair amount of alignment with government regulatory agencies, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Mr. Igbalajobi noted that the regulations put in place by the CBN had helped the financial sector to be vigilant and up to date in protecting its institutions with cybersecurity programs.
Nigeria has been identified as having one of the lowest numbers of cybersecurity experts, indicating an urgent need to strengthen digital security within the country.
According to a global report, in 2023, Nigeria had only 8,352 professionals.
(NOPE)
