The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Pantami, has said that the establishment of Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Team (CERRT) would reduce cyber attacks and make Nigeria’s cyberspace safer.
Pantami made this assertion during the inauguration of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) CERRT, saying the project was strategically built in line with the Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) of President Muhammadu Buhari for a digital Nigeria.
According to him, the facility was initiated and executed in accordance with international best practices and met the needs of the present reality, of mitigating and reducing further attacks on the country to a bearable minimum.
This, he said, will go a long way in complementing the efforts of the administration in tackling the high wave of insecurity in the country, put the economy on a better footing and boost the anti corruption war.
“The CERRT is in alignment with the three priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari, namely security, job creation and the fight against corruption.
“Today, there are many security challenges based on what is happening online. With CERRT Teams, we will become the watchdog of the Federal Government and monitor and protect cyber crime attacks on our country.
“What we want to achieve with these projects is to ensure that these key areas are in tandem with President Buhari’s Digital transformation policy.
“Part of the agreement with stakeholders was to build a digital economy. The journey started in October 2019, which led to the approval for the launch of the Digital Economy Policy for Digital Nigeria. Now it is no longer about ICT but digital transformations,” he stated.
Earlier in his address, the NCC executive vice chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, alluded to the importance of the centre to the nation’s security measures, the digitalisation of the country’s economy and the rebranding of the commission.
He added that, with establishment of the centre, the cyber space will be insulated from frequent attacks and save the country from loss of huge resources.
In his goodwill message, the director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi, said there was never a more perfect time for the initiative than the present.
“Last year, there was a disruption to the country’s journey to digital economy, as COVID-19 sent us off the streets. We rushed to our systems and smart phones to keep in touch with loved ones for education, entertainment and any other transaction we can not do physically. The new ‘normal’ made us understand the convenience of the online life,” he said.
Kashifu added that the most important thing is to secure our digital space so that people would trust it, adding that the centre was the kind of facility that would help achieve that.
