By ‘Sola Fagorusi
The name ‘Boko Haram’ is likely the most feared in the country today. It is understandable given the wanton destruction the group has occasioned especially since this year began. As of March, 2014 the group has been responsible for the death of 1,500 people according to Amnesty International. The figure has since increased. Counter terrorism pundits have repeatedly blamed the government’s knee jerk and delayed approach to the problem when the group gained national prominence in 2009. While the government continues to wage this expensive war, it also needs to be proactive and envisage what the warfare of the future would be. Our defence spending needs to give allowance for what the likely warfare of tomorrow will bring with it.
For every time we make technological progress as a nation in terms of cyber interconnectivity, it comes with its own challenge. Nigeria’s battered image which started thanks to internet scam by young people and called ‘Yahoo – Yahoo’ in street parlance is a case in point. It was not until the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was established in 2003 that the tide of internet enabled advance fee fraud began to be put in check. Despite this, the crime still continues and cyber criminals have over the years devised new and creative means of duping unsuspecting victims. It is instructive that despite the growing interconnectivity of the country, the government is yet to reign heavily on this crime form. Although there are few instances, it is however nothing compared to what is on-going. Public forum, online comments are regularly spammed with messages by these crooks and they do so repeatedly knowing well that the government possibly has no capacity to find them thanks to the pervasiveness of internet access or the government is yet to see them as a national threat.
My prediction is that in the coming years, it would be easier for a hacker to shut down the country than it will be for a strike action by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) or the Trade Union Congress (TUC). As Nigeria continues to ride on technological innovations, the risk will increase. Anyone that lives in certain parts of Lagos and Abuja understand that it is possibly to leave ones house without a dime in the pocket and yet make heavy financial transactions. Even the federal government currently depends on this interconnectivity for payment of its huge labour force through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
If Boko Haram is truly an ideology opposed to western education and perhaps its fruits, then the government owes citizens the responsibility of putting cyber infrastructures in place to ensure thoughts of warfare in this direction are quickly nipped in the bud. That people engage in cyber-crime today and get away with it will only embolden them to try out more sophisticated forms. And unfortunately for us all, access to knowledge of how to engage in hacking and internet related scams is just a click away from all. The all-knowing nature of the internet and social networks which allows the exchange of information and idea makes this easier.
Kevin Lee Poulsen, a.k.a Dark Dante might not be a popular name over here. He is however known in cyber security circles. He is the hacker who took over the telephone lines of KISS-FM, a radio station based in Los Angeles. The station then had a promotion which promised to reward the 102nd caller with a Porshe 944 S2. Of course, Kevin ended up being that caller. This was on the morning of June, 1990. He was later caught after winning the car for himself and some other gifts for his friends. He spent five years behind bars and is today putting his knowledge to good use as a journalist writing security and hacking news. He is presently a senior editor at Wired News. It was clearly a punitive measure to him and other intending hackers.
Last week as well, the United States of America went on the verbal offenses against the People’s Republic of China. The former claimed that China had a unit in the People’s Liberation Army that went by the code 61398 and had a job description of engaging in cyber espionage. The United States claims the unit has been in operation since 2006 and has stolen terabytes of data from about 141 organisations across 20 industries across the world with 115 of these organisations based in the United States. These companies are according to the U.S, blue chip companies into telecommunication, information technology and aerial space technology. The PLA has denied anything of such even as the U.S insists there are 20 more of such groups in China. This is the future of warfare already playing out today if indeed the United States claims are correct. On the other hand, the U.S is also involved in internet surveillance and spying even though it claims that hers is for security purpose. The tanks are not rolling and yet both nations are clearly grandstanding.
Nigeria needs to put clear plans in place and pre-empt moments like this. A situation where a good number of servers used in Nigeria are hosted abroad is cause for future concern. A case where a serving minister’s email address is at yahoo.com is ridiculous. Even our IPPS platform which currently has about 292 Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDAs) using it is a World Bank- financed platform. While there is nothing wrong with that in the short term, our long term plan should be to own these technologies. Cyber terrorism is for real and if anything our systems are clearly vulnerable. Financial institutions in Nigeria would perhaps be the first causality if any major attack were to happen. The Federal Government needs to provide the adequate covering and man the borders of these institutions against attacks. Terrorism would continue to change form in conformity with globalisation and pop culture. Our growing telecommunication system is also a cause for concern even as our industries are also gradually becoming totally dependent on technology. If we must plan for the future of terrorism, this has to find several pages on that plan.
Few years from now, our entire transactions and activities would be possible through our smart mobile phones. If truly, the Federal Government believes that one day, and soon, the country would be back on her feet, it means there are likelihoods that the trade secrets of our home-grown multinationals, our armed forces arsenal, our planned policies will interest competing nations on the continent. And like Confucius warned, a man who does not think and plan long ahead will find trouble right at his door. While at this, the country’s leadership also needs to take Adam Smith to mind that “No society can surely be flourishing and happy of which by far the greater part of the numbers are poor and miserable” because it is from this group that terrorist clusters like Boko Haram finds ready soldiers. And if it continues to, we will soon add #BringBackOurMoney to our expanding list of woes after a major cyber financial heist.
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‘Sola Fagorusi
Sola Fagorusi is a youth development advocate, freelance writer, accomplished debater cum coach. The Obafemi Awolowo University graduate has about 10 years experience in social entrepreneurship which straddles leadership, good governance cum anti-corruption and adolescent reproductive health. The Leap Africa alumnus is also a trained peer educator, a DESPLAY alumnus and co-facilitator. For 2 years now, he has been a technical consultant and lead judge on the Intra-Faith Peace Youth TV Debate Project facilitated by Youngstars Foundation and the British High Commission. To read his full profile, click here.
