CBN Issues Ultimatum to OFIs on Cybersecurity Compliance

By Tolulope Oke

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday issued an ultimatum to Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) on compliance with cybersecurity guidelines.

The Eagle obtained a letter signed by Nkiru Asiegbu, director, Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department, mandating all institutions to strengthen their cyber defence on or before the 1st of January, 2023.

According to CBN, OFIs must function in a secure environment in order to be safe and sound. As a result, the platform on which information is processed and sent needs to be maintained in a way that assures the privacy, accuracy, and accessibility of information as well as the prevention of danger to one’s reputation or finances, among other things.

“The effective date for full compliance with the provisions of the guidelines is January 1, 2023 and all OFIs are expected to comply on or before that date,” the CBN said in the letter.

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The guidelines are meant to, among other things, encourage the adoption and implementation of best practices and appropriate cyber security standards by OFIs, contribute to the prevention and combat of cybercrime in the OFI sub-sector, and create a safer and more secure cyber environment that supports information system security.

According to the banking sector regulator, cyber security resiliencies are considered an organisation’s ability to maintain normal operations despite all cyber threats and potential risks in its environment. Resilience provides an assurance of sustainability for the organisation using its governance, interconnected networks and culture.

The guidelines outline the minimum requirements that OFIs are required to observe in the development and implementation of strategies, policies, procedures and related activities aimed at mitigating cyber risk.