Mary Leonard, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, warned the government to be careful on permitting telecommunications providers to take part in the 5G network, at the 2021 International Legislative-Stakeholders’ Conference on Digital Technology and Cybersecurity.
She particularly warned against enabling untrusted providers, for it may lead to risks on national security, critical infrastructure, privacy, and human rights.
“This is a particularly timely issue for Nigeria, as Nigeria prepares for next week’s 5G spectrum auction and looks to roll out Nigeria’s 5G networks after the New Year,” she said.
The ambassador also reminded the government to design national measures that can mitigate significant security risks from any high-risk supplier.
“Any nation’s ability to effectively prevent, detect, mitigate and respond to threats in cyberspace depends in part on the capacity, cooperation, and resilience of global partners, the private sector, civil society, and the public,” she said.
Also speaking in the dialogue was Nigeria’s Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who was represented by Hassan Hadejia. Currently, the country is in an urgent need to protect the nation from the ever-growing concerns of insecurity in cyberspace.
The sentiment was shared by the Director-General of The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa. As the country is currently placed 35th worldwide for online business, it is essential to create safe cyberspace for people and businesses.
