Banks spend N950 million to secure networks

Reports reveal that money deposit banks have spent about N500 million to secure their respective networks against the activities of cyber criminals.

According to various media sources, a large majority of the money was spent on the certification of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) version 3.1, which is the latest security measure touted to effectively ward of hackers from networks.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek reports that about 19 banks have spent about N50 million implement controls necessary for PCIDSS certification, including consultation fees.

READ: 'Nigeria loses N129 billion to online identity theft in 13 years' - NITDA DG

“It was brought about by the ever evolving and changing sphere of information security. It has updated a few of the objectives and added new controls in line with the current landscape of payment systems threats and risks. There are quite a number of advantages. One is that it makes application security testing a very key component of the overall process. Other key advantages include systems component inventory, third party and vendor relationships, advanced persistent threats and malware as well as physical access and point of sale security,” says Oluseyi Akindeinde, CTO at Digital Encode, one of the companies that help some of the banks achieve PCI DSS certification.

Security experts at the recently concluded Hakcess conference have frowned at the intrusion disclosure regulations of the CBN/NDIC, stating that it allows banks to cover up losses which result from cyberattacks.