The Chief Executives of Wema and Ecobank have advocated for policies to address issues of security, privacy and trust akin to emerging disruptive technologies to tackle digital technology frauds and ensure businesses success.
They made the call at Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria’s first edition of the accounting technology summit in Lagos with the theme: Disruptive Technologies: The Game Changer for Businesses.
Mr Ademola Adebise, the Managing Director of Wema Bank, said that the digital revolution of mobile and social technologies had driven the exponential growth and impact of digital technology across the globe.
Adebise, acknowledging the giant strides in technology over the last three to four decades, said the expansion of new economy through technological applications came with the rise in security risks.
According to him, policies such as the European Union (EU) Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have been considered by many to be a step in the right direction.
Adebise, however, said the ability of the various governments and regulators to enforce policies that protected privacy, while maintaining free access to information remained to be seen over time.
He, therefore, called for the collaboration of all key stakeholders for the critical success in boycotting activities of hackers and other security challenges in the sector.
“Technology means that often the value-generating assets are intellectual property, not physical and some emerging technologies are poised to further amplify the impact of technologies on business as we know it.
“The flip side of this coin is with the expansion of the new economy comes the rise of security risks.
“The global ‘Wannacry’ incident in 2017 and more recently, the ‘NotPetya’ hacking of the Russian national grid, the raiding of the Central Bank in Bangladesh have illustrated that cyber-security remains a major threat even in the most advanced countries.
“As more people use and store their data on the various platforms that drive the digital economy, users are wary of the privacy of their personal information.
“Addressing these issues that come with security will require careful thought and committed action by all concerned parties.
“There must also be a collective effort to push the development in cyber-security to match the rapid advancements in cyber threats.
“While there can be no 100 per cent secure platform or technology, frameworks with sound early warning systems and solid fail safe mechanisms can help to mitigate risks and limit loss of valuable data and/or damage to critical systems,” he said.
He said that the role of governments and regulators in the new economy was still unclear as whether they should participate, provide infrastructure or merely ‘oversee’ had not been determined.
Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, the Managing Director and Regional Executive, Ecobank Nigeria, listed stakeholders’ corporation, international corporation, partnership with mobile network operators and operationalising the police dedicated electronic fraud unit (PDEFU) as potential risk mitigation initiatives.
Akinwutan aid that business issues in digital payment systems could be addressed by self-regulatory, financial initiatives and fraud management technologies.
He urged organisations with stored old data to constantly data scrub to facilitate better services.
“Lack of integration can hamper the smooth flow of services in a digital payments system.
“While consumers and businesses have benefited from the evolution of digital payments, the digital payments ecosystem is constantly evolving with the influx of Fintech firms and global tech giants.
“Therefore, key stakeholders and regulators need to ensure compliance with global standards and collaborate for success,” he said.
