The Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has called for wider adoption of Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC), as Nigeria steps up efforts to strengthen cybersecurity across government institutions and protect critical digital infrastructure.
The call follows the National Information Technology Development Agency’s (NITDA) directive requiring ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to incorporate DNS security into their cybersecurity assessments, according to a report by Nairametrics published on October 28, 2026.
Speaking at a webinar organised by NiRA on October 26 to mark Cybersecurity Awareness Month, Olusegun Folayan, who represented NITDA Director-General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, said government institutions must prioritise the security of their online infrastructure.
“So we must lead, we must ensure that every .gov.ng is signed as much as possible, and we provide DNS as an inclusion in every security assessment that we do,” Folayan said.
He added that registering a government domain was not enough without measures to protect it against cyber threats.
“So it’s not enough to just have a domain, but it must be secured and must be signed,” he said.
DNSSEC is a security extension that uses cryptographic signatures to verify the authenticity and integrity of information returned by the Domain Name System (DNS).
The system translates website addresses into numerical internet protocol addresses that computers use to locate online services.
Weaknesses in DNS infrastructure can allow attackers to manipulate domain records or redirect users to fraudulent websites, potentially exposing them to financial fraud and data theft.
NiRA President Sola Akinsanya said securing the domain name system was essential to building trust in Nigeria’s digital economy, particularly as businesses, financial institutions and government agencies increasingly depend on online services.
“Our priority must therefore be competence, coordination and careful implementation, rather than adoption for its own sake,” Akinsanya said.
He cautioned that DNSSEC does not encrypt internet traffic, prevent distributed denial-of-service attacks or protect against compromised domain registrar accounts. Organisations must therefore combine it with other cybersecurity measures.
Akinsanya also called for greater collaboration among government institutions, domain registrars, internet service providers and businesses, noting that the responsibility for securing Nigeria’s digital infrastructure extends beyond NiRA.
The push for wider adoption comes as the country’s digital economy becomes increasingly dependent on online platforms for banking, payments, public services and commercial transactions.
During the webinar, Akinsanya cited figures attributed to cybersecurity firm Check Point showing that Nigerian organisations faced an average of about 4,361 attempted cyberattacks weekly in June, compared with a global average of approximately 2,270.
He also referenced Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System figures indicating that digital payment fraud amounted to N25.85 billion in 2025, despite a decline in reported incidents.
Akinsanya warned that a reduction in reported cases did not necessarily indicate improved security, as underreporting could obscure the scale of cyber threats.
“DNS security is not a technical hobby. It is an economic question,” he said.
He urged organisations to review their domain security, strengthen account access controls and activate multi-factor authentication to reduce the risk of unauthorised changes.
In a separate presentation, Ahmad Mukushi, a member of NiRA’s executive board and technical committee, said the signing of the .ng registry zone in February 2026 had established a foundation for DNSSEC deployment in Nigeria.
However, he said the registry-level implementation was only the beginning, as domain owners and registrars needed to extend the protection to individual domains.
“However, signing the zone is only the beginning because DNSSEC protection is to extend to domain names,” Mukushi said.
He called on registrars to facilitate adoption among domain owners, adding that a resilient DNS ecosystem also required infrastructure redundancy, continuous monitoring, technical training and tested incident recovery systems.
Folayan urged organisations to conduct risk assessments and vulnerability tests, fix identified weaknesses, strengthen identity and access controls, and report security incidents promptly.
He identified government websites, particularly those using the .gov.ng domain, as priorities for DNSSEC adoption, alongside critical sectors such as banking, financial technology, telecommunications and e-commerce.
Internet service providers were also urged to validate DNSSEC signatures through their resolvers, while registrars were encouraged to make DNSSEC-enabled domain management a standard service.
The webinar also examined wider cybersecurity threats, including social engineering, ransomware attacks and data exposure.
Daniel Onyekpeze of the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) said social engineering attacks had become more sophisticated, with artificial intelligence contributing to the changing threat landscape.
Abubakar Mahmud, an IT and cybersecurity officer at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC), highlighted the risks associated with large-scale data exfiltration, identity theft and financial fraud as Nigeria’s digital economy expands.
The event also featured representatives of Cyberplural Limited and the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre.
The discussions highlighted the need for coordinated action among regulators, government agencies, domain registrars and network operators to improve Nigeria’s cyber resilience.
