The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has advised over 4,500 Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-licenced Bureaux de Change (BDCs) to create or activate over 4,000 official/ corporate emails on its platform and stop use of Yahoo and Gmail for official communication.
ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, was quoted in a statement to have said the advice followed a circular from the Other Financial Institutions (OFIs) Department of CBN, directing all OFIs including BDCs to adopt corporate e-mails for their communication with the apex bank.
He said: “We are also glad to inform the gathering that over 1,000 BDCs in the South-west have been integrated with the new CBN Forex return rendition platform. In due course, our members in the other zones shall be integrated to achieve online real time return rendition to CBN from the comfort of their offices.”
Gwadabe, said ABCON proactiveness in the automation of its members’ operations, had paid off, as all BDCs now have opportunity to re-active their official e-mails on the ABCON platform.
“ABCON advises all members to activate their emails on the automation platform to enable them comply with the CBN circular. All members are to visit national and zonal secretariats for further enquiry and assistance, where necessary,” he added.
The ABCON boss said the rising threats of cyber-security attacks on the financial system means that all stakeholders, including BDCs must be proactive to protect their data, businesses, reputation and overall operations from cyber attackers.
He said e-mails have remained the weakest link on cyberattacks and BDCs under his leadership will continue to upgrade their IT systems to ensure that they are ahead of the cyber criminals.
He said banks, OFIs, digital wallets and remittance players are prime targets by cyber criminals seeking quick monetisation of stolen credentials.
“It is therefore important that we do not relent in our efforts at protecting this space and increasing public confidence in financial system,” he said.
Gwadabe, backed the OFIs Department of CBN on the policy shift, agreeing with the regulator that most cyberattacks involve the use of web or internet-based emails to send malicious software or viruses that compromise the data and IT systems of organisations. This, he said, has attendant negative impact on the confidentiality, integrity and availability of critical information assets.
He urged OFIs with corporate e-mails to comply with the CBN directive by making regulatory submissions and communicating with the regulator via e-mails as the apex bank has restricted all web-based e-mails from its domain, adding that compliance is compulsory.
