The safety of our cyberspace remains critical as businesses, governments and individuals rely more intensely on ICT for their day-to-day activities following the pandemic
In a keynote address, The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, stated that achieving rapid connectivity means that we must engage with stakeholders to facilitate infrastructure deployment in the sector. To this end, the Commission has intensified its engagement, collectively with Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and individually with state governors to push the National Economic Council’s resolutions on multiple taxation, multiple regulations and minimum uniform Right of Way (RoW) charges, as well as address other issues impeding telecoms infrastructure deployment in some states.
Professor Danbatta, at the 2020 National Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) Virtual Innovative Tech Webinar commended the members of NITRA from across the country for their continuous coverage and reportage of the Commission’s activities. “This innovative Tech Forum is another avenue for us to intimate your members and the general public about the NCC’s plans for an economic reboot following disruptions caused by the global Covid-
“Furthermore, we are working with the Nigeria Industrial Policy and Competitiveness Advisory Council (critical Infrastructure Sub-Committee) under the auspices of the Vice President on various initiatives towards identifying and implementing initiatives aimed at improving broadband penetration in the country.
“As important as all these are, the safety of our cyberspace remains critical as businesses, governments and individuals rely more intensely on ICT for their day-to-day activities following the pandemic. The re-direction of human traffic to online portals for major transactions as a result of social distancing also meant that cybercriminals have a larger audience and a much bigger playground to unleash malicious attacks.
The topic of the keynote: “Multi-Stakeholder Approach to National Recovery Post-Pandemic”, and there is no better time than now to talk about NCC’s preparedness in addressing the prevailing situation.
“In the post-pandemic era, cyber threats are likely to become the most effective way to attack an organization or a country, and the trends indicate that cyber criminals are finding even more sophisticated ways of carrying out their nefarious activities. It is instructive to note that NCC adheres strictly with ITU guidelines for the global telecoms industry and has been actively in support of initiatives to propagate a safe online community.
Prof concluded saying “I am delighted to share all this information with our stakeholders from NITRA, and want to re-assure you that we are passionate partners in the journey to reposition Nigeria’s telecom industry. This symbiotic relationship between the Commission and NITRA must be sustained in order for Nigeria to come out stronger from the Covid-19 global pandemic, he added.
