CHAPTER ONE
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0.0 Introduction
In the last quarter of the twentieth century, a technological revolution centered on information has transformed the way we think, produce, consume, trade, communicate, and even how we get married[1]. The availability of information technology around the world is linking up people and activities while switching off from a conventional networks of power and wealth.
To a large extent, cyberspace is the manifestation of postmodern society whereby novel technologies have created new social environment and a new reality. We are now living in an era of simulations, where humans are constantly “substituting signs of the real for the real” [2].
Statistics available at the Nigerian Communication Communications indicate that there are four major Telecommunication Companies in Nigeria, namely; MTN, Airtel, Glo and Etisalat which is now 9aija.
Today, electronic society has become perhaps some of the most critical issues for almost all governments across the globe because the survival of their economies now revolves on the dynamics of information and communication technology. Hacking and Cyber-security challenges have become one of the great frontiers. Between 2000 and 2016, the internet expanded at an average rate of 566.4% on a global level, while an estimated 2.4 billion people are “on the Net.”
Six trillion web pages are accessible, 2.2 billion Google searches per month and 12% of all global trade happens online, with about $240 million lost from global cyber-crime. [3] The rapid growth of computer technology carries with it the evolution of various crimes on the internet. In recent years, there has been considerable focus within the criminal justice system on computer-related crime, as hacking and cyber-security has garnered increased attention because computers have become so central to several areas of social activity connected to everyday life. [4]
Although the internet has been a double-edged sword providing opportunities for individuals and organizations, it brings with it an increased information security risk.[5] Hacking and Cyber-security has in recent times become a crucial threat to many countries which has necessitated many governments from around the world to enact sturdy legislations and also put in place coherent procedural measures to tackle cyber-criminals.
1.1.0 Background to the Study
The internet creates unlimited opportunities for commercial, social and other human activities. But with cyber-crime the Internet introduces its own peculiar risks. What are the menace hacking and cyber-security threats poses to Nigeria? Hacking and Cyber-crime is an obstacle that may shut the door of progress against any nation that are found wanting. The global village currently records an increasing criminal behaviour. There is hardly a place where computers and internet facilities are found that cases of crime are not recorded[6].
New modes of operation are developing as the Global System for Mobile-telecommunication (GSM) is now used for browsing. A lot of young people are common among the perpetrators of these criminal activities. They spend hours browsing and sometimes stay awake all night to carry out their nefarious activities[7].
Accordingly, hacking and cyber-security[8] are described as one of the fastest growing criminal activities on the planet. The fact that it covers a large range of illegal activity including financial scams, computer hacking, downloading of pornographic images from the internet, virus attacks, stalking and creating websites that promote hatred. In recent time, young students in the tertiary institutions engage in forgery of all kinds ranging from false admission paper to school fees receipts, certificates racketeering and examination malpractice that is, accessing useful information during examinations through the handset and other electronic devices[9].
The role of ICT in an emerging economy like Nigeria has been widely recognized at various levels. The recognition is reflected in actions such as the development and deployment of national ICT infrastructures, institutional and regulatory framework for managing the sector. In addition, the promotion by the use of ICT in all sectors of the economy, implementing e-governance in government institutions indicate that Nigeria have embraced the knowledge-based society.
Notwithstanding the success Nigeria has chalked in ICT, it is a common knowledge that the spread of hacking and cybercrime is on the ascendency.
The news that Nigeria ranks sixth in cyber fraud, out of ten countries identified in the world and first in Africa is alarming[10]. Cyber fraud ranges from hacking of official websites to abduction and soliciting by young Nigerian girls for sexual gains abroad.
This development has impacted negatively on Nigeria’s image in the global environment. Many companies in the western world have blacklisted credit card transactions coming from the country. To buttress this point, Nigeria was the second most frequently blocked location by U.S e-commerce sites because retailers are skeptical of fake orders from internet scammers and it is against this background that this study seeks to investigate hacking and cyber security in the Nigerian Telecommunications Industry.
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