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The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), has shared the Ministry’s efforts to keep Nigeria’s cyberspace secure before, during, and after the 2023 Presidential Elections.
The Ministry is responsible for protecting Nigeria’s cyberspace to ensure citizens can trust digital services. This responsibility is part of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS).
To help with this task, agencies under the Ministry, including the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Galaxy Backbone (GBB), have set up Cybersecurity Centres. These centres, such as NITDA’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and GBB’s Security Operations Centre (SOC), have been working to monitor cyber threats since they were established between 2020 and 2022.
Ahead of the 2023 elections, cybersecurity reports showed a big rise in threats to Nigeria’s cyberspace. On average, around 1.5 million daily attacks targeted public websites and portals, but this number jumped to nearly 7 million on Election Day.
With his expertise in cybersecurity, Minister Pantami ordered the agencies to increase their monitoring around the clock from February 24 to 27, 2023. On February 24, he also launched the Ministerial Standing Committee on the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure. The Committee, led by the NCC Board Chairman and including the CEOs of NCC, NITDA, and GBB, had several key tasks, such as:
- Monitoring telecom infrastructure to ensure the election process was credible and secure.
- Developing ways to protect Nigeria’s critical digital systems from cyberattacks.
- Creating strategies to prevent and respond to cyberattacks, and ensuring quick recovery from any damage.
- Conducting a full risk assessment of Nigeria’s cybersecurity and finding any gaps.
- Advising the Government on using digital technologies in the elections.
From February 24 to 28, 2023, the Committee oversaw the monitoring of cyberspace. During this time, over 12 million cyberattacks were recorded, including DDoS attacks, email, and other cyber threats. These attacks were blocked or reported to the relevant authorities for further action.
Thanks to these efforts, Nigeria was able to hold a secure and fair election. Minister Pantami thanked all stakeholders for their support and emphasized that these achievements were made possible through the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. He hopes that the lessons learned from this election will improve future electoral processes.
