2023 Elections: Nigeria’s Cyberspace Survived 12m Attacks – Pantami

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has disclosed how the combined efforts of the  parastatals under his ministry, including Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC),  National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Galaxy Backbone(GBB) Limited ensured a safe and secure cyberspace for Nigerians before, during and after the 2023 presidential election.

In a statement issued yesterday by his spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, The minister revealed that over 12 million cyber-attacks were averted during the period, boosting confidence in the citizens and leading to a free and fair presidential as well as National Assembly elections in the country.

Pantami noted that the move was in line with the goals and objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS), adding that the need to secure the Nigerian cyberspace prompted the establishments of NITDA’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), NCC’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and GBB’s Security Operations Centre (SOC).

The centres were established between 2020 and 2022 in line with the minister’s policy directives and have been monitoring Nigerian cyberspace for potential threats and taking appropriate actions to mitigate them, both individually and collectively as well as in collaboration with other stakeholders.

The statement said, “It is worth noting that in the run-up to the 2023 General Elections, threat intelligence revealed an astronomical increase in cyber threats to Nigerian cyberspace. Generally, threats to public websites and portals averaged around 1,550,000 daily. However, this skyrocketed to 6,997,277 on Presidential Election Day.

“The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, as a Professor of Cybersecurity and one that is very passionate about ensuring a safe and secure cyberspace, directed all the parastatals to enhance their 24/7 monitoring of the networks and traffic for potential attacks from 24th February 2023 to 27th February 2023.”

The statement recalled that on February 24, 2023, the minister inaugurated the Ministerial Standing Committee on Advisory Role for the Protection of Nigerian Cyberspace and ICT Infrastructure.

It said the committee chaired by the board chairman of NCC, with the CEOs of NCC, NITDA and GBB as members, was charged with the following responsibilities: Monitoring of Telecommunication Infrastructure for the successful conduct of credible, free, fair, and transparent elections; Developing and implementing plans to enhance the resilience of critical digital infrastructure against cyber threats; Designing procedures and using technologies to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber-attacks, as well as developing the ability to recover from any damage that is done quickly.

Others include developing a comprehensive risk assessment, analysing the nation’s current cybersecurity capabilities, and identifying gaps that need to be addressed; and providing professional advice to the Government on the effective utilization of digital technologies in the conduct of the 2023 General Elections.

The statement further noted: “The committee’s activity started on 24th February 2023 and ended on 28th February 2023. During this period, a series of hacking attempts were recorded, including Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), email and IPS attacks, SSH Login Attempts, Brute force Injection attempts, Path Traversal, Detection Evasion, and Forceful Browsing.

“A total of 12,988,978 attacks were recorded, originating from both within and outside Nigeria. It is worth noting that the Centres successfully blocked these attacks and/or escalated them to the relevant institutions for appropriate action.

“The parastatals, under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, have played a crucial role in providing the enabling environment for the successful conduct of a credible, free, fair, and transparent election.

“The Minister commends all stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem for their support that resulted into this unprecedented success. More importantly, the Minister notes that these attainments are as a result of the commitment of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, towards ensuring Nigeria’s successful transition into the digital economy.

“The digital economy sector has enjoyed continued support of the President and it is highly appreciated. He also hopes that lessons learned during the process will be put to effective use in subsequent elections”.