The National Information Technology Agency (NITDA) has only 588 entities comprising of many private companies and government establishment had complied with data protection regulations in the country in the last one year.
Nigeria’s Information Technology regulatory agency also said the country had recorded an impressive growth in data protection compliance in the one year.
NITDA’s Director General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi disclosed this during the closing ceremony of 3-day virtual conference on “COVID-19 and Securing the Financial Services Industry” organised by Committee of Chief Information Security Officers of Nigeria Financial Institutions (CCISONFI).
Speaking on Nigeria’s journey towards implementing Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), Abdullahi noted that despite low level of awareness and various challenges faced by stakeholders, the level of compliance is growing at a fast rate, and Nigeria is leading in Africa.
He said, “Before the introduction of the NDPR, no Nigerian entity could boast of compliance with data protection laws.
“Selected multinationals had some level of compliance imposed on them by their parent companies.
“However, it changed drastically within one year. From near zero compliance, the country has recorded impressive growth in data protection compliance.”
Abdullahi added that banking sector is a primary target for data breach due to the perceived value of data.
Abdullahi said NITDA had licensed 70 Data Protection Compliance Organisations (DPCO), which in turn also over 2,700 new jobs.
The Data Protection sector is valued at N1.8billion using median value of audit implementation cost, he added.
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