The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned that the increasing use of artificial intelligence by cybercriminals poses serious risks to Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure, banking system and national security.
Speaking at the second International Cybersecurity Conference in Abuja on Tuesday, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said cybercriminals are increasingly deploying sophisticated AI-driven tools to launch attacks capable of compromising digital networks and financial systems.
Represented by the NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Technical Services, Sunday Oshadami, Maida noted that emerging threats now include personalised AI-powered phishing schemes, automated credential attacks, deepfake technology designed to defeat multi-factor authentication, and self-modifying malware that can evade traditional security measures.
According to him, the telecommunications sector has become the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy, facilitating banking transactions, business operations, public services and everyday communications.
He warned that attacks targeting telecom operators could have far-reaching consequences across critical sectors of the economy.
“An attack on a telecom provider is an attack on the financial sector, national defence and civil governance,” he said. Maida explained that artificial intelligence has significantly transformed the cybercrime landscape by enabling attackers to identify vulnerabilities and execute operations at speeds beyond the capability of conventional security systems to detect and respond.
“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 growing sophistication of cyber threats, he cited recent cyber incidents globally, including attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in France and spyware campaigns targeting journalists and media professionals in the Middle East.
The NCC boss said the Federal Government’s designation of telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure underscores the importance of securing networks against evolving cyber threats.
He revealed that the commission has established a Computer Security Incident Response Team to monitor threats, coordinate intelligence sharing and enforce incident reporting across the industry. In addition, he disclosed that the NCC has introduced a Cyber Resilience Framework aimed at setting minimum cybersecurity standards for licensed telecommunications operators.
Maida urged telecom companies to adopt zero-trust security architectures, regularly audit AI systems for vulnerabilities and build resilient networks capable of recovering quickly from attacks.
Also speaking at the conference, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi, said cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting human weaknesses rather than targeting technology alone.
Abdullahi disclosed that NITDA is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and the National Assembly to review Nigeria’s Cybercrime Act and develop a stronger national cybersecurity architecture.
Similarly, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by Director of Public Prosecutions Rotimi Oyedepo, said efforts are underway to introduce legislative reforms to tackle emerging cyber threats while improving the management of electronic evidence and cybercrime prosecutions.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Senator Shuaib Salisu, called for the creation of a national cybersecurity resilience index to measure the preparedness of organisations against cyberattacks. He also emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among government institutions and enhanced regional cooperation to strengthen Nigeria’s digital security framework.
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