A Cybersecurity expert, Mr Oluwafemi Osho, on Sunday urged the Federal Government to prioritise cybersecurity and invest in real-time monitoring against cyberattacks.

Osho said it was important to ensure the protection of the country’s digital future.

He was reacting to the advisory on Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on Nigeria’s vital digital infrastructure recently issued by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja.

DDoS attack is a cybercrime in which the attacker floods a serve with internet traffic to prevent users from accessing connected online services and sites.

NITDA in the advisory, warned that a hacking group known for its politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns particularly using DDoS attack type had been detected.

The advisory also said that the group had a track record of successful attacks in various countries.

The expert, however, said that DDoS attacks on the nation’s vital digital infrastructure underscored the escalating cyber threats faced in today’s digital age.

“Attacks such as DDoS, especially when targeted at a nation’s critical digital infrastructure, pose severe risks to national security, economic stability, and citizens’ daily lives.

“DDoS attacks, by their nature, can disrupt essential services and given the increasing reliance on digital platforms for governance, communication and finance, a temporary service outage can lead to significant losses and chaos.

“The disruption of digital infrastructure can lead to direct financial losses, diminished public trust in digital services, data breaches wherein attackers exploit the chaos to gain unauthorised access to sensitive data.

“While the threat posed by DDoS attacks is significant, proactive measures and a robust defense strategy can significantly mitigate their potential impact.

“It is a call for Nigeria to prioritise cybersecurity at the highest levels of governance, ensuring the nation’s digital future is secure and resilient,’’ Osho said.

According to him, the government and its institutions should invest in real-time monitoring and detection systems to identify unusual traffic patterns indicative of a DDoS attack early.

Osho said:“Critical infrastructure should be designed to handle traffic spikes, cloud-based solutions can provide elastic capabilities to manage and distribute excessive traffic loads.

“There need to be collaboration with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) because they can be crucial in mitigating DDoS attacks by identifying and filtering malicious traffic before it reaches the target.

“It is also essential to make the public and organisations aware of the risks of DDoS attacks and offer training on best practices for cybersecurity.

“A well-documented and rehearsed emergency response plan can significantly reduce the impact of an attack.

“This involves coordinating technical teams, public relations, stakeholders to manage and communicate during an incident effectively.”

Part of his recommendations also included collaborations with international bodies, other nations and global cybersecurity firms that could provide insights into emerging threats and best practices for defense.

According to him, there should be strengthened cyber laws and regulations that could deter potential attackers and as well punish cyber criminals.