The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, has said that the increasing adoption of digital technologies and the emergence of new technologies as well as the often-transnational nature of financial crimes, have broaden the scope of the crimes thus, created further concerns.
However, Maida said that based on historical data and real-time intelligence, predictive police programs have arisen to foresee and prevent crimes, adding that digital forensics techniques have also proven useful in criminal investigations.
He also said that robust information and communication technology (ICT) systems are critical for preventing, and investigating financial crimes or mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in financial markets.
This was just as he noted that strict respect for data privacy standards, such as the General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union and the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA), assist greatly in the preservation of trust in the use of ICT solutions for crime prevention.
Maida, who stated these at the 11th Anniversary Lecture Series of RealNews Magazine which took place at the Ikeja Sheraton Hotel, Lagos state, said that financial crimes included criminal activities that involve transactions, abuse, misuse, deception, or manipulation of financial systems for personal gain.
The NCC EVC, who was represented by the Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Mouka, further said that the crime includes a wide range of offenses such as insider abuse, money laundering, terrorism financing, proliferation financing, embezzlement, fraud (E-fraud, Banking, securities, corporate, intellectual property) among others.
Maida said that the crimes have a huge economic and social impact and are also linked to violent crimes that lead to loss of lives, stressing that they threaten the integrity, stability, security, trustworthiness, safety, and future of an entity such as a country, enterprise and or individual.
According to him; “Robust information and communication technology (ICT) systems are critical for preventing, investigating financial crimes and mitigating the risks associated with virtual assets in financial markets.
“These systems facilitate compliance with established standards or regulations, they also provide a platform that allows the monitoring, tracing, and analyzing of digital transactions in real time. ICT systems support secure data storage and encryption technologies, which are critical for safeguarding sensitive financial data.
“Technological advancements have significantly aided crime prevention and law enforcement agency performance. Large datasets have been analyzed using advanced data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms to look for trends that indicate criminal activity,” he said.
Maida noted that historically, a variety of legacy technologies have been used to combat crime, adding that in more recent times, novel computer software and hardware are being utilized to monitor individual transactions and communications for suspicious activity.
He also said; “For instance, anti-money laundering (AML) software uses algorithms to detect anomalous patterns in financial transactions that could suggest money laundering or other illegal activity.
“Law enforcement agencies are increasingly employing communication monitoring software to follow and analyze digital communications, such as emails, social media interactions, and instant messaging in order to discover potential threats or illegal behaviour.
“These technologies improve the ability to detect and prevent illegal digital activity. Nigeria’s telecoms sector has grown significantly, resulting in massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis. The advent of advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) provides a gateway to identify suspicious digital patterns indicative of crime.
“Through partnerships with financial institutions data can be filtered to identify these suspicious patterns and nip them in the bud. These technologies provide real-time transaction monitoring, allowing for a proactive approach to crime prevention,” he said.
The NCC boss further said that to combat financial crimes, innovative solutions such as blockchain, instant payments, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics, regulatory technology solutions, and automated procedures are being deployed, adding that the use of technological tools has made it significantly easier to deal with financial crime while building a long term strategy for combating it.
Maida explained that Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), is a group of experts of which the NCC is part of that handles security incidents that can affect the operations of organisations.
He also said that digital forensics is a branch of forensic science that focuses on identifying, acquiring, processing, analysing, and reporting on data stored electronically, adding that electronic evidence is related to criminal activities and can be admitted in the process of prosecuting offenders in law courts.
In his words; “Verification of Biometrics: The incorporation of biometric authentication into financial transactions represents a big step forward in fraud prevention. The NCC makes certain that telecom carriers follow strict biometric registration rules, which improves the accuracy and security of customer data and in turn financial transactions.
“Palantir Technologies Solution: Law enforcement agencies and financial institutions have used Palantir’s data analytics platform to examine massive volumes of data for patterns indicative of financial crimes. It permits the integration of many data sources, allowing for more thorough investigations.
“Chainalysis Solution Case Study: Chainalysis specializes in blockchain analysis and provides tools for tracking cryptocurrency transactions. This platform supports law enforcement in tracing illicit blockchain activity such as money laundering, ransomware payments, and illegal transactions,” he said.
Maida also said that strong encryption and access controls ensure the security of critical information in data security and piracy in the use of ICT for crime prevention.
