By Prince Osuagwu

How to tackle the spate of cyber attacks in the growing Nigerian digital banking environment has become a major concern to tech solution providers who believe that it will rob the country of whatever benefits the digital banking revolution will bring.

File: CBN Headquarters

Although several companies claim to have invested heavily on firewalls and other solutions to protect their data, system integrator, Inlaks says the issue requires more awareness, education and sustained campaign to ensure major Nigerian companies don’t fall victim of cyber fraudsters.

The company in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, global banking software company, Temenos and  American manufacturer of secure identity solutions, HID Global, organised a forum for financial players in Lagos, Nigeria.

With the theme: Banking in the Digital Age, the forum highlighted how digital banking technology is reshaping the banking industry and provided indepth insights on various market trends and growth parameters in local and global banking environments. Cyber security Manager, Inlaks, Mr Adeyemi Ademiluyi, while making presentation at the event, sated that there was no way the issue of cyber security could be left unattended to when discussing banking in the digital age.

He said: “There are opportunities in this digital era, but there are also real threats in digital banking and it is important that organisations stay safe. Every day, attacks are launched at digital companies and these attacks are becoming more sophisticated. The cyber thieves are becoming more creative and innovative in their approach.

“Organisations spend thousands and millions of dollars trying to put in place security software and infrastructure to limit these threats, but experience has shown that they need multiple steps which will keep them ahead of cyber thieves. That is part of the value we have been adding to the business sustainability of our clients,” he added.

The Executive Director, Sales & Strategy (Infrastructure Business Division), Tope Dare, also revealed that Inlaks had partnered with credible companies like Temenos and HID to provide security infrastructure that can help digital banking platforms mitigate the problem of cyber theft.

Presenting a keynote address at the forum, Deputy Director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision (OFIS) Department, CBN, Adedeji Adesemoye, identified fundamental approaches that banks can use to enhance their digital capabilities.

He itemised financial inclusion and digitisation as a means that can foster innovation across products, business models and allow straight-through processing that can automate and digitise a number of repetitive, low-value, and low-risk processes. He further stressed that the need for banks to have a vision of their future, technology, infrastructure and a well-defined corporate culture, are major factors that determine whether a bank is successful in this age.