We recorded 3.83m cyber attacks during guber, state Assembly polls — Pantami

3,834,244 attacks were registered during the recently completed gubernatorial and state Houses of Assembly elections, according to the minister of communications and digital economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, who made this announcement yesterday.

He claimed that both domestic and foreign sources were involved in the attacks.

The minister claimed that compared to the presidential and national assembly elections, the activities of cyberthreat actors in Nigerian cyberspace during the gubernatorial and state assembly elections were significantly lower. This was stated in a statement by his Senior Technical Assistant (Research and Development), Dr. Femi Adeluyi.

According to a breakdown of the attacks by day, there were 1,046,896 attacks on March 17, 2023, 1,481,847 on March 18, 2023, 327,718 on March 19, 2023, and 977,783 on March 20, 2023.

“The attacks were not surprising nor unexpected as, Nigeria being Africa’s largest democracy, the Presidential and National Assembly elections are bound to attract much attention of everyone, including cyberthreat actors, than during the gubernatorial and state Assembly elections.”

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He expressed confidence that the implementation of some recommendations as well as measures taken to fortify the nation’s cyber defense mechanisms might have helped in this regard.

Pantami reiterated that these attainments would not have been possible without the continued support of the Buhari’s administration towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.

He said: “The digital economy sector has enjoyed Mr President’s unprecedented support and it is highly appreciated.”

Recall that on March 14, 2023, the office of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy issued a statement detailing the operations of the ministry and its parastatals before, during, and after the presidential and National Assembly elections.

In response, and in keeping with the ministry’s mandate and efforts to assist measures aimed at safeguarding the Nigerian cyberspace, the minister directed the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Preservation of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure to further improve the cyberspace surveillance activities of the three cybersecurity centers.

The centers include National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA; Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, and Galaxy Backbone Limited, GBB.

The committee, inaugurated by the minister on the eve of the Presidential and National Assembly elections, was charged with the following responsibilities, among others: monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of the 2023 general elections; developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats, among others.