The Nigeria data protection Bureau, NDPB b, has commenced an investigation into allegations of data breach by Guarantee Trust and Zenith Banks.
This information was given by the head of legal enforcement and regulations of NDPB Babatunde Bamigboye who said the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party, and unlawful access and processing of personal data.
The investigation would cover the data governance practice of the banks in all their branches in Nigeria and would extend to all third parties carrying out their data processing activities.
In a statement, Dr. Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the NDPB, stated that the probe would focus on the data governance practices used by the banks in all of their branches in Nigeria.
This, he claimed, would apply to every third party engaged in the data processing.
“The bureau observes with concern that several laws governing data privacy and protection and best practices are rarely put into practice at the organizational levels of Nigeria’s main data controllers.
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The bureau also exhorts organizations to follow Federal Government circulars and general compliance notices instructing them to submit to the Bureau the names of their Data Protection Officers/Contacts.
According to the national commissioner of NDPB, Dr. Vincent Olatunji “there are reports by Nigeria inter-bank settlement system (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 percent of the time. this level of vulnerability to a data breach is unacceptable.”
According to him, such attacks can only be addressed by data controllers and data processors in the industry implementing foolproof data security and data privacy measures.
Olatunji, on the other hand, urged all financial institutions to follow the Central Bank of Nigeria’s lead in complying with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019 by establishing a strong data governance system.
He also urged all organizations to take advantage of the ongoing National Privacy Week to clear the air about how they handle citizens’ data.
Olatunji also stated that future enforcement actions would be taken against willful violators of privacy rights.
Both banks have trended heavily on social media with a myriad of complaints and heavy criticism.
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