The Central Bank of Nigeria has unveiled guidelines geared towards strengthening cyber resilience of banks and Other financial institutions (OFI) under its regulation amid an increase in the sophistication of threats against the sector.
The move which is contained in a circular titled, “Exposure Draft of the Rise-Based Cyber Security Framework and Guidelines for Other Financial Institutions” dated August 13, 2021, and signed by the Director, OFIs Department, Nkiru Asiegbu, was addressed to all OFIs in the country.
The circular stipulated the minimum requirements for enhancing cybersecurity, adding that the safety and soundness of OFIs require that they operate in a safe and secure environment.
In view of this development, the apex bank stated that the platform on which information would be processed and transmitted should be managed in a way that ensures the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information as well as the avoidance of financial loss and reputational risk, amongst others.
Considering the reliance of financial institutions on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to operate their business and the rising incidences of cyber threats and attacks targeted at financial institutions, the CBN said it had become imperative to implement Cyber-Security measures to mitigate against those risks.
In recent times, threats such as ransomware, targeted phishing attacks and Avanced Persistent Threats (APT) have become prevalent.
These have placed a burden on financial institutions including OFIs to strengthen their cyber resilience and take proactive steps to secure their critical information assets to ensure their safety and soundness.
Cyber-Security resilience is considered as an organization’s ability to maintain normal operations despite all cyber threats and potential risks in its environment.
