According to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), a staggering 94.7% of data breaches and cyber attacks – especially within government ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) – succeed primarily because of a shortage of skilled cybersecurity personnel. The National Commissioner, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, made this known during the launch of a specialized drill on data protection for IT administrators in Abuja.
Dr. Olatunji emphasized that the consequences of data breaches extend beyond financial losses to severe reputational harm. Attackers target networks for various motives, including embarrassing the government, monetary gain, or simply for amusement.
He pointed out that as society moves more activities online, the risk grows: a breach occurs every 39 seconds globally, costing billions of dollars. A major contributing factor is the human element – 94.7% of breaches worldwide are linked to insufficiently trained personnel, and Nigeria faces an even steeper challenge.
To address this, the NDPC has launched an awareness campaign aimed at network administrators, data protection officers, and data handlers. The goal is to equip them with the necessary technical and organizational measures to safeguard networks and databases from unauthorized access that could lead to serious negative outcomes.
In a further step, the Commission announced plans to train Permanent Secretaries and heads of agencies on data protection, ensuring leadership understands and prioritizes cybersecurity.