The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has given approval for the Central Bank of Nigeria to upgrade a number of its ICT security and systems Infrastprojects.
NITDA is the government’s clearing house for all IT procurement and services in the public sector.
The projects cleared include: Enterprise Network Security – Gateway Security Project, aimed at upgrading the Bank’s network security appliances and ensures that network security appliances are highly available and provides comprehensive real-time protection against advanced threats, the Intelligence Security Operations Center project that is aimed at providing a dedicated center, technology and team for continuous monitoring of the Bank’s network to prevent, detect and deal with Cyberattacks.
According to a statement signed by Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, NITDA, Mrs Hadiza Umar, the other projects are the Implementation of a Network Access Control (NAC) Solution – a security approach designed to restrict the availability of network resources to endpoint devices – aimed at enhancing infrastructure security as well as limit potential effects from emerging security threats, and the Identity and Access Management Solution project aimed at ensuring that the right individuals access the right resources/applications at the right times and for the right reasons.
The projects are part of CBN’s efforts towards mitigating these threats, especially in the country’s financial institutions.
It may be recalled that NITDA’s DG, Dr Isa Ali Pantami, had in a press statements, alerted the country on potential cyber-attacks likely to be experienced, targeting banking, health and other systems, power and transportation systems, as well as other critical national infrastructure.
The Director General, in his clearance letter, commended the Bank for the proactive manner in handling these threats and reiterated NITDA’s continued support for all initiatives aimed at ensuring that the country’s cyberspace is safe and secure.
