Gerrad Olisa-Ashar, CEO of DigiSign and a noted expert in the digital economy, has addressed the recent reports of data breaches at the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).
While acknowledging the gravity of these incidents, Olisa-Ashar emphasised the potential for growth and improvement in the face of such challenges.
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In a brief interview with The Guardian, Mr Olisa-Ashar commended the NIMC for its prompt response to the breach reports, highlighting the agency’s incident response plan as a positive step.
He also praised the NIMC’s efforts to educate Nigerians about their role in safeguarding their data and for adhering to the ISO27001 standard, which he described as reassuring.
Additionally, while commending the efforts of the NIMC in strengthening data protection, Mr Olisa-Asher stressed the three things that need to happen to help reduce the risk of such alleged breaches and inspire more confidence in NIMC.
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He noted, “Firstly, we must ensure that security policies and certifications like ISO27001 are not merely compliance driven. The real benefits of such standards and certifications can only be achieved when cybersecurity is culturally embedded in the organisation.”
Furthermore, he urged the NIMC to offer access through third parties to help individuals and businesses verify Nigerians’ identity. However, he said “it is important that NIMC has a process to regularly assess the cyber security risk presented by these third parties in close to real-time.”
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He also said that “there needs to be a multifaceted approach, in collaboration with the private sector, to increase the level of cyber security awareness and education for citizens.”
“It will help if more information is out there to make more Nigerians aware of ways to keep data safe,” he concluded.
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