GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

The study examined the extent of the menace of cyber crimes studying the strategies of strengthening cyber security and resilience to mitigate cyber crimes in Nigeria and the globe. Internet usage has been rapidly rising in Africa, as more people connect to the inter-web mostly through their mobile phones. This increased use has created a new challenge for the continent in potential attack vectors at both individual and organizational level. The increasing availability and utilization of internet facilities, threats in the cyber space have also escalated dramatically. Criminals are invading homes and offices not by breaking doors and windows but by breaking into laptops, Personal Computers and wireless devices through the internet. Cyber security has played a vital role in ensuring the attainment and maintenance of the security properties of the organization and user’s assets against relevant security risks in the cyber environment - the internet. The study reviewed the origin of cyber crime, the cases of cyber attack in Nigeria, the cases of cyber crime globally and the strategies to strengthen cyber security and cyber resilience in Nigeria. On this basis, the study concluded that the alarming growth of the internet and its wide acceptance has led to increase in security threats. In Nigeria today, several internet assisted crimes known as cyber crimes are committed daily in various forms such as fraudulent electronic mails, pornography, identity theft, hacking, cyber harassment, spamming, Automated Teller Machine spoofing, piracy and phishing. It was therefore recommended that countries should build upon the work of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) which supports local, community-level initiatives aimed at strengthening resilience against cyber-attacks.

KEYWORDS: Cyber crimes, Strategies, Cyber Security, Resilience, Security and Resilience against Cyber Risk in Nigeria