By Nkechi Eze
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has launched the 2026 National Cybersecurity Awareness Month with a call for Nigerians, businesses and institutions to take shared responsibility for building a safer digital environment.
According to an official statement signed by Mrs. Hadiza Umar, Director, Corporate Communications, NITDA, the month-long campaign is being held under the theme, “Together for a Safer Cyberspace.”
NITDA said the campaign was designed to raise awareness about evolving cyber threats and promote practical measures that individuals and organisations can adopt to protect their digital assets.
The agency noted that the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence and automated systems had expanded the cyber threat landscape beyond conventional phishing attacks, with emerging risks including AI-driven social engineering, deepfake impersonation, voice cloning and fraudulent QR code attacks, otherwise known as “quishing.”
NITDA urged Nigerians to adopt stronger cyber hygiene practices, including the use of unique passwords, password managers and multi-factor authentication for personal, professional and financial accounts.
The agency also advised citizens to install software and operating system security updates promptly, protect sensitive financial credentials such as One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs), and exercise caution when using artificial intelligence tools and unfamiliar online platforms.
It warned Nigerians against uploading sensitive personal, financial or proprietary information to public AI models and urged them to verify suspicious links, attachments, unsolicited requests and digital media before interacting with them.
NITDA further advised citizens to be mindful of the information they share publicly on social media, noting that oversharing could expose individuals to targeted social engineering attacks.
The agency also encouraged individuals and organisations to maintain regular offline and cloud backups of critical data to facilitate recovery in the event of ransomware attacks or other system disruptions.
NITDA said its computer emergency response structure would continue to equip citizens and organisations with the knowledge, tools and frameworks required to mitigate digital risks, report cyber incidents and contribute to a secure and inclusive digital economy.
