Lagos launches cyber security toolkit for small businesses – TheNigerialawyer

The Lagos State government on Friday announced the introduction
of a cyber security toolkit for small businesses, a free online
resource that small businesses can use to significantly reduce
their cyber risk and curtail incidences of cybercrime.

The toolkit, which is a joint effort between the State Ministry
of Justice and the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA), is an
international, cross-sector effort dedicated to eradicating cyber
risk and improving the connected world, while the toolkit also
provides real-world tools and clear directions for taking immediate
action for reducing cyber risk at a time when the need for such
resources has never been greater.

Speaking at the launch of the toolkit, Attorney General and
Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem (SAN) described the
toolkit as a great asset to small businesses, saying that the
development would go a long way to tackle the menace of
cybercrimes.

According to him, “The major driving force for the deployment of
the cyber security toolkit for small businesses in Lagos State is
its apparent potential to reduce cybercrime which in-turn has a
significant impact on our collective gains as a Ministry that
focuses on creating a crime free society.

“The nature of cybercrime goes beyond national boundaries;
hence, there is need for international initiative and concerted
trans-border joint actions in fighting cybercrime and also
providing bulwarks against its perpetration.

“To further its cyber security efforts, the Lagos State Ministry
of Justice joined GCA as a partner in support of its mission to
eradicate global cyber risk. Small businesses are the lifeblood of
a community and provide all manner of essential services and
support to individuals, enterprise businesses and government. Even
though a business may be small, when it comes to cybercrime the
risks are great.”

Kazeem added that the toolkit, which would be regularly updated
with input from users, industry experts and public and private
partners across the globe, was developed in partnership with
Mastercard, while the Global Cyber Alliance also partnered with
several additional organizations to create the GCA cyber security
toolkit, including the Center for Internet Security, the Cyber
Readiness Institute, the City of London and the City of New
York.

He said as a thriving State, which encourages inward investment
and also supports indigenous Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) which
are vulnerable to cybercrime, the initiative was appropriate and
timely to the State, assuring that government would further
collaborate with relevant stakeholders to make deepen access to the
toolkit.

“The Lagos State Government will encourage and collaborate with
relevant stakeholders in the business community and regulatory
bodies to embrace this cybercrime toolkit for small business as a
formidable initiative in fighting cybercrimes and related
offences.

“To access the GCA Cybersecurity Toolkit, visit
https://gcatoolkit.org/smallbusiness or the website of Lagos State
Ministry of Justice www.lagosministryofjustice.org for a
redirection to the GCA Website. The Lagos State Ministry of Justice
and the GCA will also be conducting a series of webinars on how to
protect your business from cybercrime,” Kazeem said.

At the earlier launch of the toolkit, which took place in New
York and London on the 19th February 2019, in reiterating the
importance of cybersecurity, City of London Police Commissioner Ian
Dyson had said: “As the national lead force for for checkmating
fraud and a founding member of the Global Cyber Alliance, we are
always pleased to see new initiatives that will assist businesses
in improving their cyber security.

“Businesses lost £6.7 million as a result of social media and
email accounts being compromised between April and September 2018.
It’s therefore essential that we, as a force, continue to work
closely with businesses as well as the organisations that serve to
protect them.”

According to Cyrus Vance, Jr., Manhattan District Attorney,
“When we launched the Global Cyber Alliance, we set out to empower
organizations of all sizes with the tools they need to prevent
cybercrime.

“The Global Cyber Alliance’s free Cybersecurity Toolkit provides
small- and medium-sized businesses with immediate, concrete steps
to protect their companies and customers against crippling
cyberattacks, and I thank each of the public and private partners
who contributed their world-class expertise.”

On his part, President and CEO of Global Cyber Alliance, Philip
Reitinger, said the significant difference between the firm’s
Cybersecurity Toolkit and those of others was the fact that it is
an action kit, adding that the focus was on protecting small
businesses.

“Our focus is on producing a dynamic clearinghouse of
operational tools that help small and medium businesses address
risk and improve their cyber security posture, leveraging the deep
expertise of our network of global partners, such as Mastercard,
and the experiences of actual GCA toolkit users,” Reitinger
said.

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