The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Lagos State Governor on Science and Technology, Mr Saheed Balogun, on Wednesday said that the Lagos State Smart City Project would considerably enhance cybersecurity in the state.
Balogun made the assertion during a two-day Sensitization Workshop on the Implementation of the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy 2021 for the Private Sector and Professional Bodies in Lagos.
The event which started on Nov. 16 and ended on Nov. 17,2021 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, was organised by The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
He said that the ongoing Lagos Smart City Project, which started since Gov. Babajide Sanwolu’s inception into office, would provide security from the physical perspective to also the technological aspect.
“The project will provide security from the physical perspective via camera surveillance which will also extend into various aspects of information technology, health information, tax information among other areas.
“This will bind us as a government with the people of the state, thereby engaging the private sector to reduce the risk of cybersecurity to the populace of Lagos.
“Sanwolu has put in the necessary commitment and investment of the government by ensuring that open duct system required for broadband connectivity is laid around the state,” the SSA said.
Balogun said that the eight pillars of the national cybersecurity program would form the basis of achieving our collective goals as representatives of the people of Nigeria.
According to him, the pillars include: strengthening cybersecurity governance and coordination, protection of critical national information infrastructure, enhancing cybersecurity incident management and strengthening legal and regulatory framework.
“Others are enhancing cyber defense capability, promoting a thriving digital economy, enhancing international cooperation and assurance monitoring and evaluation.
“As a technological driven concept, we expect that there will be room for dynamism within the concept of the law as we know the threat landscape is also a dynamic landscape.
“Therefore, the role of cybersecurity cannot be overemphasised in terms of creating a smart city where everything is expected to be connected through technology,” he said.
The SSA lauded the sensitisation workshop saying that it would further deepen the state’s resolve of providing a safe digital community to realise a digital economy in Nigeria.
“We believe that this workshop will lead to the domestication of all the pillars as envisioned across all aspects of governance within Nigeria and thereabout, give us the benefits that we expect from the seminar,” he said.
Mr Kazeem Durodoye, a partner with One Alliance Ltd said that we were gradually transiting into 5G which comes with a lot of benefits centred around the speed with which we get things done.
“By the time you now have speed that enables you to do five times what you are doing will make you vulnerable to cybercrime.
“Therefore, we as users and government must be prepared to deal with the corresponding cybersecurity challenges that comes with the advent of 5G,” Durodoye said.
Also speaking, Mrs Hadiza Dagaban, Board Secretary, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), called for cybersecurity trainings for Human Resource (HR) managers in various sectors.
Dagaban said that trainings on cybersecurity should not be left alone to the IT department but also extended to the Human Resources (HR) because they handle and keep important data of personnel in different establishment.
