The importance of electronic information systems is obvious to all participants in the modern economy. When information fails to circulate, whole sectors of the economy are vulnerable. Finance, wholesale and retail trade, transportation, much of manufacturing, and many services and industries would slow to a craw / without computers. Vital publics services – utilities, national defence, and medicine are equally dependent.
Information security – the
safeguarding of computer systems and the integrity, confidentiality, and
availability of the data they contain-has long been recognized as a critical
national policy issue. Two current trends indicate that its importance is
growing. First, the integration of computers into more and more aspects of
modern life continues. Second, cyber-attacks, or breaches of information
security, appear to be increasing infrequency, and few observers are willing to
ignore the possibility that future attacks could have much more severe
consequences than what has been observed to date.9
Currently experts have proclaimed
that cyber crime and security are the greatest and perhaps the most dangerous
threat to the development of mankind living on the planet earth today. It has
become perhaps the most critical issue on the global development agenda for all
governments.10
A report indicated that Nigeria
loser about 80 million dollars (N11.2 billion) yearly to software piracy alone.
This report was the findings of a study conducted by the institute of Digital
Communications (IDC), a market research and forecasting firm based in South
Africa, on behalf of Business Software Alliance of South Africa (BSA).11
As it stands, cyber crimes affect
the economy of Nigeria in various sectors. The lack of confidence in the
banking sector as a result of the impact of cyber crime is daming on the
economy. The role of banking services to every economy cannot be
overemphasized. The impact of cyber crimes on the Nigerian economy is becoming
compelling and manifest to many as computer literacy increases, adding that
organizations seem to pay less attention to security in contrast to the more technology
that these scammers adopt.
In Nigeria, organizations are busy
adopting information technologies without commensurate investment in
information security. This is a predisposition to cyber crime because the
Nigeria society is technologically investing its way to cyber insecurity. The
growing rate of this crime has the capability of wiping out our developmental
gains, and retarding growth fortunes by many decades.
The effect of cyber crime can also
be felt far from the place where the crime is committed. In the case of United
States v. Ivanorv,12 the acts of a computer
and credit card fraud carried out by 2 resident of Chelyabinsk in Russia
resulted in total losses amounting to 25million dollars in the US.
The cost of the damage caused by the
spread of a single virus called “mellissa” is believed to have been around 55
million dollars in the USA and over 800 million dollars worldwide (Nigeria
inclusive)13
Apart from the foregoing, cyber
crimes have devastating economic and security consequences including:
i) Undermining
legitimate private sector efforts. The theft of funds and information deprives
the legitimate owners of the use of their resources and in turn affect the
economic development of the country.
ii) Undermining
the integrity of financial sectors. Potential customers are discouraged from
patronizing banking industry and the role of financial institution is critical
to any meaningful economic development.
iii) Loss
of control of Economic Policy: The magnitude of the stolen money accumulated in
assets can be used by criminals to misdirect markets.
iv) Economic
distortion and instability cyber criminals ‘invest’ their funds in activities
that are not economically beneficial to countries.
v) Loss of
Government Revenue. Cyber crimes diminish government tax revenue. It also makes
government tax collection more difficult.
vi) Risk to
privatization efforts.14
Criminal organizations have the financial where withal to outbid legitimate
purchases of formerly state-owned enterprises.
9
Brian Cashwell, et al. “The Economic Impact of Cyber-Attacks (2004) CRS
Report for Congress www.crs.org.
10 Olakunle, A. “Loss of Economic Revenue
Amounting to Computer crime” The Vanguard Newspaper, March 18 (2001) p. 31.
11 Cited in http://www.tribune.co.ng.
visited May 30, 2011.
12 Reported in http://www.cybercrime.gov. visited May 30, 2011
13 Ibid.
14
Obot, U.S. “The Role of the CBN in the
Fight against Cyber Crime.” Draft Key Note Address delivered at the 1st
West African Cyber Crime Summit 2010 held at Trauscorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, November 30th, 2010.
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