World Cyber-Security conference

Lawmakers in Nigeria have been called upon to pass the Cyber Security Bill into law.

The Bill is expected to fast-track the enforcement of laws to protect children and youths from cybercrimes and prosecute internet fraudsters.

The wife of the Nigerian President Mrs. Patience Jonathan made the call at the 2013 Cyber Security Conference held in Abuja.

As the ITU Child Online Protection Champion, Mrs Jonathan said that she would embark on a continental advocacy to ensure that every country has strong cyber security laws in place, to protect the vulnerable.

"From my interaction with youths around the world, I am convinced that online crime is indeed a global challenge, which needs urgent action from all of us," Mrs. Jonathan stated.

“I am committed to ensuring that the Nigerian child, the African Child and the children of the world are protected from all forms of online risks and abuses,” she promised.

The First Lady also listed five pillars that would help her to succeed in the battle against cyber crime as; Capacity building, Organisational structure, Legal measures, Technical measures and International cooperation.

A former Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Ehud Barak called for coordinated effort in combating Cyber crimes.

In his Keynote address titled 'Cyber, Physical Terrorism and Economic Development: My Experience as Israeli Prime Minister,' Mr. Barak said that the World has lost a lot of human and material resources through Cyber Crimes which was not supposed to be.

He urged various governments in the World to emulate the Israeli example by establishing Cyber Responsive windows that would monitor internet activities in their respective countries.

“There is need for countries to protect their national security especially their communication and other assets from terrorists," the former Israeli Prime Minister stated.



The International Telecommunication Union Director, Geneva, Mr. Brahima Sanou said that the union was saddled with the responsibility of combating cyber crimes worldwide, which it would win soon.

Top 10 countries
“Nigeria is among the top 10 countries in the world with clear cut efforts at fighting cyber crime,” the Nigerian Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Mobolaji Johnson explained.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission ( NCC) Mr. Eugene Juwah also stated that the commission has been working on cyber protection.

He appraised the appointment of the First Lady as COP champion, adding that it would make the task easier.

This conference is coming barely a week after the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Global Youth Summit in Costa Rica. Young people from different countries expressed their concerns on national and international policy to decision makers, at the conference.

The 2013 edition of the World Cyber Security Conference is the first conference to be hosted by the First Lady in her capacity as the Child Online Protection Champion, since her investiture in May.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, the participants resolved amongst others that there should be a determined focus on building human and institutional cyber security capacities with all relevant stakeholders both nationally and internationally. They believe this will drastically reduce online child exploitation in the next few years.

The theme of the Conference was “Cyber Insecurity- A Latent Threat to National Security and Economic Development.”