By Ademola Alawiye

Thursday, 9 Dec 2010

Financial experts from Pricewater House Coopers, on Wednesday called on financial organisations to protect sensitive information on their companies, saying that the landscape for information security was gradually undergoing changes.

The experts, who spoke in different presentations at a seminar, titled, ”Information Security: what does it mean to you,” said there was a need to maintain strong information security given the growing demand of mobile devices and easy access to the internet.

In his address, the Managing Partner, PwC, Mr. Ken Igbokwe, said, out of the reported cases of attempted or successful fraud in the Nigerian banking system in 2009, 70 per cent were perpetrated via the electronic system, reflecting a lack of in depth understanding of security issues and weaknesses in the internal control systems of banks in Nigeria.

He said, ”Our ultimate objective is to make Nigeria more secure, and we know this can only be achieved by creating arenas where all stakeholders can collaborate, share experience and knowledge. There is a great need for awareness and knowledge sharing on how to preserve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information.”

The Director, Forensic Technology Solutions, PwC United States, Mr. Edward Gibson, said that cyber crimes and internet fraud had become more sophisticated, noting that companies would need to build up their security system to address these prevailing security problems.

He said, ”Companies today are under ever increasing pressure to meet regulatory requirements, maintain strong operational performance and increase shareholder value. In this highly competitive environment, companies can no longer afford ad-hoc securities measures.

“Protecting intellectual property, sensitive customer information and other business critical information requires a comprehensive security strategy that closely aligns with business objectives.”

A partner, Systems and Process Assurance, PwC Nigeria, Mr. Daniel Asapokhai, said that there were risks and vulnerabilities at every point of the e-payment processing chain.

He said, ”All stakeholders, which include, customers, organisations, professionals responsible for security, e-payment service providers and vendors have to take ownership of the aspects of security within their domain.”

 

Source: Punch