NCC Raises Alarm Over AI Attacks On Critical National Infrastructure

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that the rising deployment of synthetic intelligence by cybercriminals is creating severe dangers for Nigeria’s telecommunications networks, monetary establishments and nationwide safety.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the fee, Dr Aminu Maida, raised the priority on Tuesday on the second International Cybersecurity Conference in Abuja, noting that AI enabled assaults have been turning into extra superior and more and more able to breaching digital networks and compromising monetary transactions.

Maida, who was represented by the NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, Sunday Oshadami, recognized AI-generated phishing messages, automated makes an attempt to steal login credentials, deepfakes designed to defeat multi-factor authentication and self modifying malware as rising cybersecurity threats.

“We now face AI-driven phishing tailored to individuals, automated credential attacks, deepfakes designed to bypass multi factor authentication, and malware that rewrites itself to evade detection,” he stated.

The NCC chief defined that telecommunications networks had grow to be an integral part of Nigeria’s digital financial system, facilitating banking providers, industrial actions, public administration and on a regular basis communication.

He warned {that a} profitable cyberattack on a telecommunications operator may have far reaching penalties for different crucial sectors that depend upon dependable digital connectivity.

“An attack on a telecom provider is an attack on the financial sector, national defence, and civil governance,” Maida said.

According to him, synthetic intelligence has modified the character of cybercrime by permitting malicious actors to detect system weaknesses and perform complicated assaults at a velocity that conventional safety measures might battle to match.

“We are no longer defending against human hackers operating at human speed; we are confronting machine learning systems operating at microsecond computational speed,” he stated.

To illustrate the rising scale of the menace, Maida referenced reported cyber incidents involving grocery store refrigeration techniques in France and a adware operation that focused at the least 45 gadgets belonging to journalists and media staff within the Middle East between 2024 and 2025.

He careworn that defending telecommunications infrastructure had grow to be more and more essential following Nigeria’s classification of the sector as Critical National Information Infrastructure.

Maida disclosed that the NCC had established a Computer Security Incident Response Team to trace rising threats, facilitate intelligence sharing and be sure that cybersecurity incidents have been reported appropriately.

He added that the fee had launched a Cyber Resilience Framework to offer widespread safety necessities for licensed telecommunications operators.

The NCC government vice chairman urged operators to strengthen their defences by adopting zero-trust safety techniques, frequently testing synthetic intelligence fashions for vulnerabilities and constructing networks able to recovering from cyberattacks with out extended service interruptions.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, warned that cybercriminals have been more and more exploiting human weaknesses to realize entry to digital techniques quite than relying solely on technological vulnerabilities.

Abdullahi disclosed that NITDA was working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the National Assembly to evaluation the Cybercrime Act.

He stated the company was additionally exploring the event of a nationwide cybersecurity structure and measures to strengthen Nigeria’s digital sovereignty.

Similarly, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, stated the ministry was engaged on legislative reforms to handle rising cybersecurity challenges.

According to Fagbemi, the proposed reforms would strengthen the dealing with of digital proof, enhance cybercrime investigations and prosecutions, and be sure that measures to fight digital offences revered elementary rights.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Shuaib Salisu, referred to as for the introduction of a nationwide cybersecurity resilience index to guage how properly organisations have been ready to resist digital assaults.

He additionally advocated nearer cooperation amongst authorities establishments and stronger regional partnerships to enhance cybersecurity and defend digital infrastructure.

The convention highlighted the rising want for coordinated motion amongst regulators, safety companies, lawmakers and telecommunications operators as synthetic intelligence continues to reshape the cybersecurity panorama.