UK, KPMG Unveil Cyber Tool For SMEs To Tackle Cyberattacks

The UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in partnership with KPMG and Cybersafe Foundation has launched the Cybersecurity Toolkit for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

The project, which was executed through the UK Digital Access Programme, was designed to equip SMEs with free trusted tools against the scourge of cyberattacks/risks.

The Cybersecurity Toolkit which was designed to grant secure digital access to SMEs in Nigeria was launched on Tuesday in Lagos.

Speaking at the launch, the keynote speaker, Babagana Monguno, the National Security Adviser, said that cyber threats had impacted negatively on every part of human life.

Monguno was represented at the event by Dr Bala Fakandu, the Deputy Adviser of Communications, Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

He added that evolving cyber threats had created barriers to growth in commerce.

Monguno observed that the development had placed a negative impact on the country’s critical infrastructure.

He said that SMEs were not spared in this challenge due to their reliability on the Internet and digital devices to reach a larger population.

According to him, the predominant of these threats are email phishing, malware attacks, ransomware and general threats to business image.

He said a report from a UK company shows that phishing accounted for more than 90 per cent of breaches affecting SMEs.

Monguno added that phishing accounted for huge business losses, which underscored the urgent need to protect SMEs from cyber attacks.

He noted that ONSA had created a roadmap for addressing the emerging trends in cybersecurity and enhancing progress in the use of cyberspace.

Monguno said that ONSA had developed a national digital forensic laboratory to facilitate the digital evidence of cyber crimes investigation.

Also speaking, Ben Llewellyn-Jone, British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, said that the digital access programme was an essential tool designed to provide sustainability to 100 million SMEs in Nigeria.

Llewellyn-Jone said UK Govt. in partnership with KPMG would deliver support to Nigerians in multiple areas such as digital forensics, critical infrastructure and private support through the SME Cybersecurity toolkit.

“We recognise the power of digital economy to deliver the objective of sustainable development goals,” he said.

The Senior Associate, Cyber and Privacy, KPMG, Adedayo Adeniji, said that the toolkit was a free resource that SMEs could use to test their responses to cyber threats and protect their businesses online.

She explained that the toolkit contained toolboxes with different functionality that protect SMEs from phishing malware, defence update, file backups and recovery, password security, SMEs email and reputation protection, among others.