By Olabisi Olaleye and Steve Agbota [email protected] 8094000013, 08111813040
Stakeholders in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, especially in Nigeria, need to take proactive measures to discourage people from engaging in cybercrime.
This was the submission of the general manager of Techplus, Taiwo Oyewole, at the just-concluded Techplus 2017 Conference and Exhibition, with the theme, “An Intelligent Future: From Connectivity to Digital Immersion.”
According to him, in order to curb cybercrime, a lot needs to be put in place to ensure perpetrators of such crimes are punished in accordance with the law and to ensure that the criminal acts are not successful.
Oyewole maintained that there was the need to put incentives in place for people who leverage on technology to be encouraged to do more, saying , “With the growth of ICT and technology globally, the cybercrime industry is bound to grow as well because there are more and more educated people, hence, there is need for preventive measures.
“The solution to cybercrime is really more around because people are more and more educated. If you look at those areas where cybercrimes are taking place, we have a lot of people who are perpetrating those crimes. Some of them are doing it for the fun of it but if you look at other parts of the world where those crimes are being perpetrated, sometimes, it is just that people don’t know how they can add value to the society. Whereas, where enlightenment comes in, there is a whole ecosystem, there is massive ecosystem that we are not paying attention to and that ecosystem must be taken into consideration by every stakeholder.”
Oyewole noted that an intelligent future is a snapshot of what a future would really look like, by exploring advancements in some of the major technology trends of future that include augmented reality, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), workforce automation and digital disruption.
“Based on intelligence, we are in information age and information is what drives about intelligence. In security parlance, intelligence gathering is really what guarantee safety. But in this era, intelligent I am talking about, is more from operational standpoints, for being able to do things better, quicker, more efficiently and being able to do things with more ease and more cheaper in the entire process.”
He said the organisation empowering startups, which was the most attended at the event and other tracks on offer during the 2017 conference include Women in Tech, Tech Money, Tech for Development, C-suite, Content, Media and Marketing and Tech Kids.
“The essence of these are for participants to chose the areas of their interest to attend and gain value. Idea exchange is what we are promoting, is not enough to just have a showcase through the exhibition but for us to be able to discuss with one another and look for proffer solutions, some of the news ideas and innovative ways we can drive our economy forward through technology
“Beyond promoting entrepreneurship at the event, another good thing is to open up the mind of the youth to be able to see what possible for them how they can engage or proffer solutions to problems or challenges we are facing in our economy. Last year, we have a thousands of start ups and we are increasing this year,” he said.