{"id":5777,"date":"2026-10-30T15:39:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T15:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5777"},"modified":"2026-10-30T19:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T19:41:13","slug":"icsc-2026-cybersecurity-experts-urge-global-action-against-ai-driven-threats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/?p=5777","title":{"rendered":"ICSC 2026: Cybersecurity experts urge global action against AI-driven threats"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Cybersecurity experts, lawmakers and international partners advocate stronger global cooperation to combat emerging cyberthreats driven by Artificial Intelligence tools, and rethink how they protect digital consumers, institutions and economies across the world <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect<\/p>\n

Cybersecurity experts, lawmakers and international partners have advocated stronger global cooperation to combat emerging cyberthreats driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.<\/p>\n

The experts warned that the rapidly changing digital landscape requires countries to rethink how they protect citizens, institutions and economies.<\/p>\n

ConsumerConnect<\/em> reports the cybersecurity professionals stated this Tuesday, October 28, 2026, at the opening ceremony of the International Cybersecurity Conference (ICSC 2026), in Abuja, FCT.<\/p>\n

The stakeholders and participants in the conference highlighted the growing sophistication of cyberattacks and the need to strengthen human awareness, institutional resilience and international collaboration in the digital space.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the event, Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said the increasing use of AI by cybercriminals had created a new dimension to cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

The Director-General of NITDA noted the development now requires organisations to deploy advanced technologies to anticipate, detect and counter attacks.<\/p>\n

He also explained that cybersecurity and cyber resilience are complementary but distinct.<\/p>\n

Inuwa stated that cybersecurity focuses on preventing attacks, resilience involved the capacity to recover after an attack had occurred.<\/p>\n

According to him, the growing sophistication of AI has made it necessary to expand cybersecurity strategies beyond the protection of computer systems and digital infrastructure to include the human mind.<\/p>\n

The Chief Executive of the IT sector regulatory agency further observed cybercriminals increasingly exploit human weaknesses because manipulating people could be easier than breaching sophisticated technological systems.<\/p>\n

On significance of ICSC 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Highlighting the importance of the event, Inuwa said the conference would examine how individuals and institutions could strengthen their defences against both technological attacks and attempts to manipulate human behaviour.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Senator Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, described the conference as an opportunity to advance technology diplomacy and strengthen Nigeria’s international partnerships in the digital sector.<\/p>\n

He affirmed the participation of legislators from other countries demonstrated growing international interest in Nigeria’s technology initiatives and reinforced the country’s potential as a destination for business and collaboration.<\/p>\n

The agency disclosed Hon. Adedeji Stanley Olajide, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, reinforced Inuwa’s position, describing cybersecurity as a moving target that demands continuous learning and adaptation.<\/p>\n

Olajide warned that strategies effective today might no longer be sufficient tomorrow, given the speed at which Artificial Intelligence was changing the methods and capabilities available to cybercriminals.<\/p>\n

He advocated stronger collaboration among cybersecurity practitioners, policymakers, diplomats, judges and heads of government agencies, stressing that cyber threats transcended national and continental boundaries.<\/p>\n

The agency further said the Federal lawmaker explained that countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America needed to recognise cybersecurity as a common challenge requiring coordinated international action.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Pedro Verdelho, Chair of the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention Committee, stressed the need to bridge the gap between the rapid adoption of digital technologies and public understanding of their associated risks.<\/p>\n

Verdelho observed that Artificial Intelligence and other digital tools had become integral to everyday activities, including travel planning, online searches and commercial transactions, but awareness of the dangers accompanying their use remained inadequate.<\/p>\n

Verdelho greater cybersecurity awareness among government institutions, private-sector organisations and ordinary citizens.<\/p>\n

The European official also highlighted the importance of the Budapest Convention, an international treaty designed to facilitate cooperation against cybercrime and improve access to electronic evidence, welcoming the participation of countries in the region in the framework.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm said cybersecurity was essential to building public confidence in digital transformation, warning that increased connectivity also created greater exposure to cyber risks.<\/p>\n

The ambassador said Nigeria’s digital transformation offered significant opportunities for innovation, economic growth and inclusion, with Sweden and Swedish companies supporting the country’s journey.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

*Cybersecurity experts, lawmakers and international partners advocate stronger global cooperation to combat emerging cyberthreats driven by Artificial Intelligence tools, and rethink how they protect digital…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"Photo: NITDA","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","_customify_content_layout":"","_customify_sidebar":"","_customify_page_header_display":"default","_customify_disable_header":"","_customify_disable_header_top":"","_customify_disable_header_main":"","_customify_disable_header_bottom":"","_customify_disable_page_title":"","_customify_disable_content_vertical_padding":"","_customify_disable_footer_top":"","_customify_disable_footer_main":"","_customify_disable_footer_bottom":"","_customify_breadcrumb_display":"","_customify_header_transparent_display":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,3,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-highlights","category-infoeducation","category-regulators"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442.jpg",670,403,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442-300x180.jpg",300,180,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442.jpg",670,403,false],"large":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442.jpg",670,403,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442.jpg",670,403,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_20261030_173442.jpg",670,403,false]},"author_info":{"info":["ConsumerConnect"]},"category_info":"Highlights<\/a> InfoEducation<\/a> Regulators<\/a>","tag_info":"Regulators","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5777"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5777\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5782,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5777\/revisions\/5782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/consumerconnectng.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}