THE Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has said that the Nigerian Army has acquired electronic warfare capabilities and is now taking advantage of the convergence of electronic and cyber warfare.
Lagbaja said this on Monday in Abuja, at the opening of the Maiden Cyber Security Workshop of the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare School.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the theme of the workshop is, “Role of Information Technology to national security against upcoming threats and cyber-attacks.”
Represented by the Deputy Director-General, Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre, Maj.-Gen. Sanusi Dahiru, Lagbaja said the Nigerian Army had in the past, made very limited inroads in its attempt at acquiring electronic warfare capabilities.
He said the limitation, which was primarily due to the high cost of devices and the limited technical know-how within the army, had been overcome.
“This is because ICT networks are also dependent upon the myriad properties of the Electro Magnetic Spectrum for their essential connectivity in cyberspace, an environment where a number of actors operate to create exponential effects when compared to other domains.
“I therefore urge the school to hold and expand this collaboration until we find the ability to play the role of second eleven in this field.
“The workshop should not only focus on cybersecurity but should include cyber warfare, as this will equip the Nigerian Army with expertise and knowledge of integrating cybersecurity into military doctrine and tactics as well as exploring the role of cyber warfare in contemporary military operations,” he said.
Lagbaja stated that cyber threats could come from many sources, including foreign organisations, hacktivist, governments, groups, criminals as well as individuals, adding that cyber-attacks were increasingly targeting critical infrastructure such as power grids, financial systems, healthcare organisations and government networks.
He added that Nigeria, like other modern societies, was overwhelmingly reliant on cyberspace for its activities, as it had become an emerging theatre of operations and would undoubtedly be contested in future conflicts.
