From Edet Udoh, Lagos
Insurance Underwriters in the country have been advised not to overlook the dangers posed by cybercrime as they embrace technology in their operations.
The Chairman of Council/President, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Eddie Efekoha, gave the warning at the 2019 edition of the Institute’s Professionals’ Forum held in Abeokuta recently.
According to Efekoha who is also the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, “Cybercrime isn’t a myth, it is real. The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) stated that in 2017, Nigeria lost $500 million dollars to cyber-attacks, a figure up by $50 million from the year before. Globally, these numbers are even bigger and it is projected that damage related to cyber-crime will hit $6trillion annually by 2021.
“This Trojan horse is a big threat to professionals. As managers of businesses, we must keep abreast of the dangers its poses to businesses. Except we control this threat, we may have no relevance in the nearest future; that is if we still have businesses to run.”
He said the relevance of the younger generation in this era of artificial intelligence has been brought to the fore by the Institute, adding that making its debut during forum, was a conversation strictly for the next generation, talking about the expectations and roles of the youth as leaders of tomorrow in the insurance industry.
