NDPC Alerts on Cyber Threats to Nigeria's Financial Systems

The National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a warning regarding coordinated cyber threats aimed at Nigeria's financial systems and critical digital infrastructure. The commission, led by Babatunde Bamigboye, emphasized the urgent need for organizations to reinforce their data security frameworks and take immediate action to handle personal data.

The NDPC's advisory highlights the increasing vulnerability of key sectors, including banking, payment platforms, telecommunications, and public sector digital services, to data breaches and service disruptions. The commission outlined several steps organizations should take to mitigate cyber risks, such as appointing trained data protection officers, implementing comprehensive privacy policies, conducting data privacy impact assessments, and adopting robust technical safeguards like multi-factor authentication and zero trust security architectures.

This advisory comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny following an ongoing investigation into an alleged data breach involving Remita Payment Service Ltd and Sterling Bank, focusing on the nature and scope of the breach and the adequacy of mitigation measures taken.