‘Nigeria lost N9bn through cyber criminals in 2018’

Nigeria lost about N8.93 billion to cyber criminals representing 59 percent of funds stolen through internet and technology based crimes in 2018 alone.

This was revealed by the Chairman, Global Banking Education Standards Board, Dr. Segun Aina, who said banks’ losses to fraud in Nigeria jumped to N15.15bn in 2018, an increase of 539 per cent compared to N2.37bn in 2017.

Aina who is also the president, Fintech Association of Nigeria President stated this at the 2019 Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Lagos State Branch, Bankers & Stakeholders nite in Lagos.

He maintained that internet & technology based sources of fraud accounted for 59 per cent of the fraud cases and 43 per cent of actual loss.

He stressed that governments of different countries might also not be able to provide bailouts to banks like they did previously in 2008.

Read also: ‘Nigeria has all it takes for business to prosper’

He also warned, that a global financial crisis induced by cybercrime May be imminent unless this is checked.

Citing the NDIC report that cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, he said, this rose upward from $3 trillion in 2015.

“Global spending on security awareness training for employees is predicted to reach $10 billion by 2027, up from around $1 billion in 2014. Training employees how to recognise and defend against cyber-attacks is the most under spent sector of the cyber security industry.”

He noted that the UN E-Government Survey 2018 showed Denmark coming first place while Nigeria ranked 143 out of the193 member countries surveyed.

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