Lagos — To streamline media participation in the on-going war against cyber crime, the Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG) alongside the Joint Action Committee on ICT Awareness and Development (JACITAD) last week, organised a one-day seminar in Lagos.

The Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG), an inter-governmental comprising law enforcement, intelligence, security and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) agencies, drawn from both government and private sector, in living up to its responsibilities, at the weekend, held a one-day seminar on cyber crime and security, in Lagos, for media professionals, especially those writing on ICT.

The seminar was co-ordinated by a non-profit making organisation, Joint Action Committee on ICT Awareness and Development (JACITAD) led by Mr. Biyi Fasoyin.

The NCWG comprises the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), State Security Services (SSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), Attorney General of the Federation, Ministry of Science and Technology, Nigerian Computer Society (NCS), Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN) and a private citizen representing public interest.

The event was graced by the duo of NCWG co-chairmen; Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Turner Isoun and Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Chief Akin Olujinmi, (SAN).

Prof. Isoun, who was represented by the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics in the Ministry, Dr. Philip Obande, said that several businesses in the country today, have been structured to adapt the processes to meet the demands of ICT were now running most of their critical services on computer networks.

Government, he said, has made tremendous in-roads into Information Technology, as the Federal Government in conjunction with some state governments are setting up Public Service Network (PSNet) and others embarking on IT projects aimed at transforming traditional government services, thereby crafting service delivery mechanism that hinges on ICT.

Such that bureaucratic processes as staff payrolls, health and pension benefits, land and related title documentations, taxes and other official income generation system are now run in both the public and private sectors on ICT systems and networks.

According to Prof. Isoun, the recently launched national e-Government programme is a Public Private Partnership (PPP), aimed at creating adequate ICT infrastructure that would enable government to migrate its services from off-line environment to the online, and "for effective, seamless and efficient government-to-citizen (G2C), Government to business (G2B) interactions and Government to Government (G2G) information flow".

The country, he said, was increasingly becoming ICT-reliant and the speed of development has been tremendous, indicating that in no distant future, "we shall become entirely dependent on ICT on executing even the most basic and mundane of individual, business or official government activities that would lead to greater economic, political and social development of our country".

He stressed that the trend globally was to complement technology with legally-based approaches to ensure that where technological security and protection ends, legal security and protection begins.

Hence, it is usual to establish a legal and institutional framework to regulate computer systems and network security as well as protection of critical ICT infrastructure.

The idea to commence the nationwide public enlightenment programme with the press, he said, was mandated by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) in recognition of the former's strategic role in information dissemination and also in confidence it repose in the media to take the essence of NCWG to the citizenry.

For Chief Olujinmi, lack of sanctions against online illegal activities, may have contributed to why there is no ICT out-sourcing in the country, as individuals and firms who want to send work to be done online, would want to be assured that there are laws and institutions to enforce those laws.

The cybercrime project, he noted, was in response to threats of online activities and in the bid to create a sanction-based system to complement available technological solutions for the security of these infrastructure.

This, he said, was the bases for establishing the NCWG last March, after the initial Presidential Committee on Cybercrime set up in November 2003, had submitted its report to President Olusegun Obasanjo.

The task before the group, he said, includes the responsibilities of bringing about this reform in nation's ICT and legal sector.

The proposed cyber crime law, he said, would create a central institution that would be responsible for the enforcement of its provisions, seek to regulate security of systems and networks and has been divided into three, namely the conducts against computer systems, utilizing ICT systems to commit unlawful act or crimes and unlawful conducts against critical ICT infrastructure in the country.

As a general rule, Chief Olujinmi, said there is a provision in the draft Nigerian Computer Security and Protection Act that criminalizes the use of ICT systems to commit any act prohibited and punishable as a crime under any law in force for the time being within the country.

In addition, Justice Minister said the law shall create a duty on all Internet Service Providers (ISPs), to include both telecoms and applications service providers, to retain relevant traffic and transactional records of all activities on their networks and systems.

He expressed confidence that when this law is passed and the relevant institution created, the nation would witness an important phase in its ICT development with substantive and procedural legislative provisions to deal with computer systems and network violations, as well as protection of sensitive ICT infrastructure.

Co-ordinator of NCWG, Mr. Basil Udotai, in his address on the occasion, said the need for the seminar had become imperative in the light of the challenges before NCWG in discharging its public enlightenment obligations, noting that the media is strategic partners in the government's endeavour to salvage the nation from the whims of cyber crime globally.

He said computers and related devices were now used as weapons of sexual, violent, fraudulent and proprietary crimes.

Almost all international organisations interested in global developments, such as World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), European Union (EU) as well as INTERPOL among others, he noted, have advocated that this be done to not only lift the nation higher in the comity of ICT nations, but socio-economically.

He captured the seven-point agenda of NCWG, to evolve embarking on public enlightenment campaign to educate Nigerians and international community on cybercrime generally and rational behind the proposed policy to confront it.

In his remark, JACITAD's President, Mr. Biyi Fasoyin, pleaded for the inclusion of the media in NCWG, describing its omission as "highly condemnable".

Other papers presented on the occasion, came from Mr. Tunji Ogunleye on "Analysing the threats to computer systems, networks and ICT infrastructure in Nigeria"; Mr. Charles Emeruwa on "Protection of ICT Infrastructure Critical to the National Economy"; Mr. Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola from Presidency dwelt on "Protection of Critical ICT Infrastructure for National Intelligence and Security"; and Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, President of NIG, on "Infrastructure Requirements for Cybercrime Policing and Enforcement in Nigeria" as well as Ms Annamart Nieman of South African National Prosecuting Authority 'Scorpion' accompanied by Mr. Lazola, while Commissioner of Police, Abdul Bello of Interpol represented the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun at the occasion.

In all, the seminar was described as enlightening by participants who spoke to Champion Infotel. They were optimistic that it would help them to improve on their contribution to the ICT industry and specifically in the battle against cybercrime.