‎NITDA Launches National Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026: “Together for a Safer Cyberspace”

On the 1st day of October 2026, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially launched Nigeria’s National Cybersecurity Awareness Month under the theme “Together for a Safer Cyberspace.”
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The month-long campaign marks a deliberate national push to move cybersecurity from a specialised technical concern into a shared responsibility for every Nigerian citizen, business, and public institution.
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‎As digital services increasingly power everyday life, commerce, governance, education, and financial transactions across the country, NITDA’s message is clear: protecting Nigeria’s cyberspace can no longer rest solely with government agencies, IT professionals, or security experts. Collective action is essential.
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‎As Nigeria’s digital economy continues to expand rapidly. Greater connectivity and adoption of online platforms have created new opportunities, but they have also widened the attack surface for cybercriminals.
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‎This comes as Nigeria has ranked among the most targeted countries in Africa for cyberattacks, with organisations facing thousands of weekly incidents on average. Cybercrime alone is estimated to have cost the country more than $3 billion between 2019 and 2025.
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‎The threat landscape itself is evolving. Conventional phishing remains common, but attackers are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence and automation. NITDA has specifically highlighted rising risks from:
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‎- AI-driven social engineering 
‎- Deepfake impersonations 
‎- Voice cloning 
‎- Fraudulent QR-code attacks commonly called “quishing”
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‎These techniques make fraudulent communications more convincing and harder for ordinary users to detect. In this environment, individual vigilance and basic cyber hygiene have become critical layers of national defence.
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‎As part of the campaign, NITDA outlined practical, everyday measures that individuals and organisations can adopt immediately such as:
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‎1. Use strong and unique passwords: Avoid reusing passwords across accounts. Prefer secure password managers to generate and store complex passphrases.
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‎2. Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA): Activate MFA on personal, professional, and financial accounts wherever available to add a second layer of protection beyond passwords.
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‎3. Keep devices and software updated: Install operating system updates and security patches promptly. Delaying updates leaves known vulnerabilities open to exploitation.
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‎4. Protect financial credentials:  Never share One-Time Passwords (OTPs), PINs, or online banking login details, regardless of who requests them. Legitimate institutions will not ask for these via unsolicited messages.
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‎5. Exercise caution with AI tools and unfamiliar platforms: Avoid uploading sensitive personal, financial, or proprietary corporate information into public AI models or platforms whose security and privacy practices are unclear.
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‎6. Verify links, attachments, and media, Scrutinise suspicious links, unknown attachments, and unsolicited request, especially those that create a sense of urgency or use synthetic audio, deepfake images, or videos.
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‎7. Practise responsible social media sharing and Limit the personal information posted publicly as Oversharing can supply attackers with material for targeted social-engineering attacks.
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‎8. Maintain regular offline and cloud backups: Keep critical personal and organisational data backed up so recovery is possible after ransomware incidents, device failure, or other disruptions.
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‎These practices are deliberately accessible. They require no advanced technical expertise, yet they significantly raise the bar for attackers.
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‎NITDA emphasises that awareness alone is insufficient. The agency continues to support the ecosystem through its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT.ng), which provides guidance, threat advisories, and a channel for reporting incidents. Members of the public and organisations can report cybersecurity incidents or seek assistance via:
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‎- Website: www.cerrt.ng 
‎- Email: cerrt@nitda.gov.ng 
‎- Telephone: +234 817 877 4580 
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‎NITDA also encourages Nigerians to follow its official channels (@NITDANigeria) throughout October for ongoing tips, updates, and advisories.
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‎The campaign aligns with broader national efforts to strengthen digital resilience, including capacity-building initiatives and coordination with sectoral response teams. It also reflects the reality that cybersecurity workforce shortages remain significant, making widespread basic hygiene and public participation even more important.
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‎NITDA says “Together for a Safer Cyberspace is both a theme and a practical invitation”.
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As Nigeria deepens its reliance on digital systems for economic growth and public service delivery, the security of that environment depends on the daily choices of millions of users.
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Strong passwords, enabled MFA, timely updates, cautious online behaviour, and prompt reporting of incidents are not optional extras, they are foundational contributions to national digital resilience.
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NITDA is calling on every Nigerian to treat cybersecurity as a personal and collective duty. The tools and knowledge are available. The responsibility is shared. The goal is a safer digital Nigeria for everyone.