A new study has ranked Nigeria sixth among the 10 countries least prepared for data security threats.

The study by PSONO, a self-hosted and open-source password manager, evaluated 54 countries to identify the most and least prepared for data security threats in 2024.

According to the report, the 10 least prepared countries in the order of ranking include Mexico, Egypt, New Zealand, Peru, Argentina, Nigeria, Kuwait, Vietnam, Colombia and Chile.

On the other hand, the 10 most prepared countries are Sweden, Singapore, Germany, Denmark, Czech Republic, Kenya, Malaysia, Greece, Finland and Portugal.

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For the study, PSONO examined the global cybersecurity index, the number of accounts exposed in data breaches, searches for “How to Create a Strong Password”, the number of cybersecurity professionals and each country’s Digital Competitiveness Ranking.

Nigeria recorded 83,400 password-related searches which, according to the study, means the country has one of the lowest levels of public engagement.

“Nigeria’s cybersecurity workforce is relatively small as well, with just 0.27 professionals per 100,000 people, making it vulnerable to growing cyber threats. However, it has a stronger digital competitiveness ranking of 72.31, indicating some level of digital infrastructure that could be leveraged for improvement,” the study stated.

Nnamdi Anekwe Chife, a security expert, told FIJ that the government must improve Nigeria’s security infrastructure to prevent bad actors from hacking into databases that contain citizens’ personal information.

He said the data of Nigerians in government institutions, ranging from the National Identification Number (NIN) to Voter Card and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), are goldmines for hackers.

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“Data security threat has to do with the breach of personal information of citizens of a particular country. And in Nigeria, we have all kinds of data out there in government institutions,” Chife said.

“If we do not strengthen our cyber security infrastructure, we run the risk of bad actors coming into our database to steal and sell this information in the open space or the dark web.

“So it is very important for the government, and the Office of the National Security Adviser to strengthen the infrastructure of the database from immigration to the banks to INEC, and anywhere else databases are used for development.”