By Akuwudike Eze

A cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange like normal currencies such as the United States Dollars, but designed for the purpose of exchanging digital information through a process made possible by certain principles of cryptography. Cryptography is the process used to secure the transactions and to control the creation of new coins.

History of Cryptocurrency

The first cryptocurrency was Bitcoin. Bitcoin was created in 2009 by a pseudonymous developer named Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin uses SHA-256, which is a set of cryptographic hash functions designed by the U.S National Security Agency. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is based on the proof-of-work system.

In April 2011, Namecoin (Now Market Capitalization of $5 Billion), the first altcoin, was created to form a decentralized DNS to make internet censorship more difficult. In October 2011, Litecoin (Now Market Capitalization of $138 Million) was released and became the first successful cryptocurrency to use scrypt as its hash function rather than SHA-256. This gave the general public the ability to mine for litecoins without the purchase of specific hardware such as the ASIC machines used to mine Bitcoin.

Litecoin began receiving media attention in late 2013, reaching a market cap of $1 billion. Ripplecoin, created in 2011, was built on the same protocol as Bitcoin but services as a payment system, think of it like a Paypal for cryptocurrencies that supports any fiat currency, cryptocurrency, commodity or even frequent flier miles.
Proof-of-work schemes

The first time stamping scheme invented was the proof-of-work scheme. The most widely used proof-of-work schemes are based on SHA-256, which was introduced by bitcoin, and scrypt, which is used by currencies such as Litecoin. The latter now dominates over the world of cryptocurrencies, with at least 480 confirmed implementations.

Some other hashing algorithms that are used for proof-of-work include CryptoNight, Blake, SHA-3, and X11.

Proof-of-stake and combined schemes

Some cryptocurrencies use a combined proof-of-work/proof-of-stake scheme, The Proof-of-stake is a method of securing a cryptocurrency network and achieving distributed consensus through requesting users to show ownership of a certain amount of currency. It is different from proof-of-work systems that run difficult hashing algorithms to validate electronic transactions. The scheme is largely code dependent on the coin, and there’s currently no standard form of it.
Cryptocurrency has really revolutionized the way monetary transactions are carried out and also give the term currency a more decentralized view as Cryptocurrency trys to remove censorship or control of the currency by one person or government.
As cryptocurrency has been gathering traction in various continents, countries and cities the African continent has remain far behind from the emerging technological trend but in participation and development we has not attempted to make an entry.

Cryptocurrency in Africa
Let put ourselves in the shoes of a Nigerian freelance web developer using various freelance platform like Fiverr, Freelance.com etc to provide services to your clients. During the collapse of the financial banking system in the last decade. The Nigerian currency is going through world record inflation meaning anything you earn locally is worthless. Any foreign currency you earn, say through accepting Paypal transactions cannot be withdrawn to a local ATM/Cash machine or bank account because of regulations holding back Paypal in many African countries which Nigeria is included. Even if you did manage to get some foreign currency (US dollars), there are capital control restriction in many countries including Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa. Services like Amazon Web Services and others won’t accept your local credit card or form of payment for you to access the services they provide for you to effectively do your work and deliver to your clients.

You want to send some money to your family in nearby Zambia and your options are Western Union and other money transfer services that still dominate cross border transactions with sky high fees (even with the growth of mobile money, regulations keep these services within borders with no inter-connect for foreign exchange service yet). But you are a top freelance coder with real value to the global marketplace but are restricted by borders and the current global financial system, that is proving to be less trustworthy by the day as we have seen with recent events in Cyprus, where the government can simply raid your hard earned savings. There are good reasons for regulations inc. Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering regulations that ensure funds are not sourced and used for illegal means such as drugs, terrorism or allowing corrupt Government officials to stash stolen funds offshore.

But with the discovery of Cryptocurrency thing are fast changing. Bitcoin, the fast raising cryptocurrency, recently crossed a $4.9 billion in market value this gives the currency legitimacy as a medium of legal exchange of value.

We already saw what happens in the face of weak banking systems in Africa that are often over regulated or not designed for the modern age. Bitcoin could do the same to financial services innovations in Africa across borders in the same way that mobile money is doing domestically with some unique benefits.

The use of a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin has some very valid concerns, it is still overly geeky and probably still climbing up the cycle of adoption most of the transactions to date you could argue are for illegal services but by the day we are seeing more and more services but this is how most disruptive technologies started.

Cryptocurrency can help open opportunities like retaining the value of one’s wealth and worth as the value keeps raising and is steady like the Gold which most currency are based on and have less restriction than other world currency. So Cryptocurrency is a technology that Africa has to embrace and support because this would bring growth and progress to mainstream finance sector in the continent and foster innovation in value exchange.

By Akuwudike Eze

In the wake of the deadly Paris attacks, technology has been a major topic of discussion — how is it used to plan these attacks, and how could it be used to prevent them in the future? Our lives depend on online services, We shop online. We work online. We play online. We live online. As our lives increasingly depend on digital services, the need to protect our information from being maliciously disrupted or misused is really important.

Cyberspace and its underlying infrastructure are vulnerable to a wide range of risk stemming from both physical and cyber threats and hazards. Sophisticated cyber actors and nation-states exploit vulnerabilities to steal information and money and are developing capabilities to disrupt, destroy, or threaten the delivery of essential services. A range of traditional crimes are now being perpetrated through cyberspace. This includes the production and distribution of child pornography and child exploitation conspiracies, banking and financial fraud, intellectual property violations, and other crimes, all of which have substantial human and economic consequences.

But today Terror attacks have been organized, planned and executed on cyberspace. Which makes the role of cybersecurity very vital to the safety of our citizens and also nation’s stability.

Cybersecurity

cybersecurity also known as Computer security or IT security, is the protection of information systems from theft or damage to the hardware, the software, and to the information on them, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.

It includes controlling physical access to the hardware, as well as protecting against harm that may come via network access, data and code injection, and due to malpractice by operators, whether intentional, accidental, or due to them being tricked into deviating from secure procedures.

The field is of growing importance due to the increasing reliance of computer systems in most societies. Computer systems now include a very wide variety of “smart” devices, including smartphones, televisions and tiny devices as part of the Internet of Things – and networks include not only the Internet and private data networks, but also Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and other wireless networks.

Computer security covers all the processes and mechanisms by which digital equipment, information and services are protected from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction and the process of applying security measures to ensure confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data both in transit and at rest.

Cyber Attacks

Vulnerabilities A vulnerability is a system susceptibility or flaw. An exploitable vulnerability is one for which at least one working attack or “exploit” exists.

Cyber attacks vary from Backdoors, Denial-of-Service attack, Direct-access attacks, Eavesdropping, Spoofing, Tampering, Privilege escalation, Phishing, Clickjacking and Social engineering and trojans. These are just but a few types of cyber attacks we experiences in today’s cyberspace.
Cybersecurity and its risk to a nation

Computer security is critical in almost any industry which uses computers. And with the vast list of cyber attacks, sectors of a that are critical and prone to cyber attacks are as follows:

Financial systems
Web sites that accept or store credit card numbers and bank account information are prominent hacking targets, because of the potential for immediate financial gain from transferring money, making purchases, or selling the information on the black market. In-store payment systems and ATMs have also been tampered with in order to gather customer account data and PINs.

Utilities and industrial equipment
Computers control functions at many utilities, including coordination of telecommunications, the power grid, nuclear power plants, and valve opening and closing in water and gas networks. The Internet is a potential attack vector for such machines if connected, but the Stuxnet worm demonstrated that even equipment controlled by computers not connected to the Internet can be vulnerable to physical damage caused by malicious commands sent to industrial equipment (in that case uranium enrichment centrifuges) which are infected via removable media. In 2014, the Computer Emergency Readiness Team, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, investigated 79 hacking incidents at energy companies.

Aviation
The aviation industry is very reliant on a series of complex system which could be attacked. A simple power outage at one airport can cause repercussions worldwide, much of the system relies on radio transmissions which could be disrupted, and controlling aircraft over oceans is especially dangerous because radar surveillance only extends 175 to 225 miles offshore. There is also potential for attack from within an aircraft.

The consequences of a successful attack range from loss of confidentiality to loss of system integrity, which may lead to more serious concerns such as exfiltration of data, network and air traffic control outages, which in turn can lead to airport closures, loss of aircraft, loss of passenger life, damages on the ground and to transportation infrastructure. A successful attack on a military aviation system that controls munitions could have even more serious consequences.

Consumer devices
Desktop computers and laptops are commonly infected with malware either to gather passwords or financial account information, or to construct a botnet to attack another target. Smart phones, tablet computers, smart watches, and other mobile devices such as Quantified Self devices like activity trackers have also become targets and many of these have sensors such as cameras, microphones, GPS receivers, compasses, and accelerometers which could be exploited, and may collect personal information, including sensitive health information.

Wifi, Bluetooth, and cell phone network on any of these devices could be used as attack vectors, and sensors might be remotely activated after a successful breach. Home automation devices such as the Nest thermostat are also potential targets.
Large corporations
Large corporations are common targets. In many cases this is aimed at financial gain through identity theft and involves data breaches such as the loss of millions of clients’ credit card details by Home Depot, Staples, and Target Corporation.

Not all attacks are financially motivated however; for example security firm HBGary Federal suffered a serious series of attacks in 2011 from hacktivist goup Anonymous in retaliation for the firm’s CEO claiming to have infiltrated their group, [19][20] and Sony Pictures was attacked in 2014 where the motive appears to have been to embarrass with data leaks, and cripple the company by wiping workstations and servers.
Government
Government and military computer systems are commonly attacked by activists and foreign powers. Local and regional government infrastructure such as traffic light controls, police and intelligence agency communications, personnel records and financial systems are also potential targets as they are now all largely computerized.

Military installations are essential to a Nation’s security and in the wake of terror attack in France and at the Radisson Hotel, Mali today. We should rethink our approach towards cybersecurity. Cyberterrorism is the act of Internet terrorism in terrorist activities, including acts of deliberate, large-scale disruption of computer networks, especially of personal computers attached to the Internet, by the means of tools such as computer viruses. Cyberterrorism can be also defined as the intentional use of computer, networks, and public internet to cause destruction and harm for personal objectives. Objectives may be political or ideological since this can be seen as a form of terrorism.

Our Approach Today

using America as case study, The Department of Homeland Security components such as the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have special divisions dedicated to combating cyber crime.

U.S. Secret Service

The U.S. Secret Service maintains Electronic Crimes Task Forces, which focus on identifying and locating international cyber criminals connected to cyber intrusions, bank fraud, data breaches, and other computer-related crimes. The Secret Service’s Cyber Intelligence Section has directly contributed to the arrest of transnational cyber criminals responsible for the theft of hundreds of millions of credit card numbers and the loss of approximately $600 million to financial and retail institutions. The Secret Service also runs the National Computer Forensic Institute, which provides law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges with cyber training and information to combat cyber crime.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center (C3) delivers computer-based technical services to support domestic and international investigations into cross-border crime. C3 is made up of the Cyber Crimes Unit, the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit, and the Computer Forensics Unit. This state-of-the-art center offers cyber crime support and training to federal, state, local, and international law enforcement agencies. C3 also operates a fully equipped computer forensics laboratory, which specializes in digital evidence recovery, and offers training in computer investigative and forensic skills.

Law Enforcement Cyber Incident Reporting

The Law Enforcement Cyber Incident Reporting resource provides information for state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement on when, what and how to report a cyber incident to a federal entity. The document also provides information on federally sponsored training opportunities and other useful resources available to SLTT law enforcement.

With these recent events of terror across the globe, questions on our approach towards combating cyberattacks has been called upon. With many sensing that the Government has not done enough in the areas of data collection and inter-agency cooperation.

Problems Ahead

Data Collection

Still using America as a case study, the PRISM (surveillance program) was introduced by United States National Security Agency (NSA) collects internet communications from at least nine major US internet companies.

PRISM is a clandestine surveillance, The PRISM program collects stored internet communications based on demands made to internet companies such as Google Inc. under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to turn over any data that match court-approved search terms. The NSA can use these PRISM requests to target communications that were encrypted when they traveled across the internet backbone, to focus on stored data that telecommunication filtering systems discarded earlier, and to get data that is easier to handle, among other things.

PRISM was publicly revealed when classified documents about the program were leaked to journalists of The Washington Post and The Guardian by Edward Snowden – at the time an NSA contractor – during a visit to Hong Kong. The leaked documents included 41 PowerPoint slides, four of which were published in news articles.

The documents identified several technology companies as participants in the PRISM program, including Microsoft in 2007, Yahoo! in 2008, Google in 2009, Facebook in 2009, Paltalk in 2009, YouTube in 2010, AOL in 2011, Skype in 2011 and Apple in 2012. The speaker’s notes in the briefing document reviewed by The Washington Post indicated that “98 percent of PRISM production is based on Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft”.

After this revelation, the NSA received a lot of backlash and there where protests and most citizens felt violated by the same Government that was tasked to protect them. On the one hand, a majority of Americans oppose the government collecting bulk data on its citizens, and two-thirds believe there aren’t adequate limits on what types of data can be collected. But at the same time, Americans generally support monitoring the communications activity of suspected terrorists. Here’s a rundown of what we know about attitudes toward U.S. government surveillance, at home and abroad:

1. Americans’ Views of NSA Surveillance, A majority of Americans (54%) disapprove of the U.S. government’s collection of telephone and internet data as part of anti-terrorism efforts, while 42% approve of the program. Democrats are divided on the program, while Republicans and independents are more likely to disapprove than approve, according to a survey we conducted in spring 2014.

2. More broadly, most Americans don’t see a need to sacrifice civil liberties to be safe from terrorism: In spring 2014, 74% said they should not give up privacy and freedom for the sake of safety, while just 22% said the opposite. This view had hardened since December 2004, when 60% said they should not have to give up more privacy and freedom to be safe from terrorism.

3. National Security vs Civil Liberties, While they have concerns about government surveillance, Americans also say anti-terrorism policies have not gone far enough to adequately protect them. More (49%) say this is their bigger concern than say they are concerned that policies have gone too far in restricting the average person’s civil liberties (37%), according to a January survey. While Americans held this view between 2004 and 2010, they briefly held the opposite view in July 2013, shortly after the Snowden leaks.

4. At the same time, Americans want to control their personal information, but few feel like they are able to. Most say it is important to control who can get their information (93%), as well as what information about them is collected (90%). But only 9% say they have a lot of control over how much information is collected about them, and 38% say they have some control, according to our survey conducted August-September 2014.

Just 6% of Americans say they are very confident that government agencies can keep their records private and secure, while 25% are somewhat confident. Similar shares express those views about their landline and cellular telephone companies.

5. Changing Behaviors After NSA Revelations, Most Americans have heard about the U.S. government’s surveillance programs, and some have changed their behavior because of it. Fully 87% are aware of the federal surveillance programs; among those aware of the programs, 25% – and 22% of adults overall – say they have changed the way they use technology at least somewhat after the Snowden revelations, according to our November 2014-January 2015 survey. Additionally, 61% of those aware of the programs say they have become less confident that the programs are serving the public interest.

6. The view from abroad is mostly one of disapproval. In most countries we surveyed in 2014, majorities opposed U.S. government monitoring of emails and phone calls of foreign leaders or their citizens. And a median of 62% in 43 countries also oppose U.S. monitoring of American citizens. In contrast, Americans tilt toward the view that eavesdropping on foreign leaders is an acceptable practice, though they are divided over using this technique on average people in other countries. But six-in-ten Americans (61%) also oppose the government monitoring communications of U.S. citizens. (Data from http://www.pewresearch.org)
This topic has always be a controversial one as must citizens still disapprove of the Governments data-collection methods this creates a lot of problem in attending an effective fight against cyberterroism.
Inter-agency cooperation

This particular issue which i the past has limited the effectiveness of a Nation in combating cyberterrism has been improved. inter-agency cooperation like information sharing has improved over the years but we can still add more improvements.

In conclusion, we have to reproach cybersecurity from a different point of view and with a patriotic mindset.

By Akuwudike Eze

MTN Nigeria was recently fined by the Nigerian Government to the tune of $5.2 billion imposed on MTN, Africa’s largest telecommunications company. MTN was fined for having 5.2 million active but unregistered SIM cards.

Unregistered SIM cards are a matter of national security in Nigeria and may have caused deaths. Boko Haram Islamic extremists use cell phones to activate bombs and coordinate other attacks, say law enforcers.

Mobile phones are also used in rampant armed robberies and kidnappings. Unregistered MTN SIM cards were used to make calls demanding ransom in the September kidnapping of a former Nigerian finance minister — weeks after a deadline for providers to deactivate unregistered cards. MTN ignored Nigerian rules and had committed a total of 28 infractions, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) spokesman, Tony Ojobo, told The Associated Press. The commission’s enforcers wound up deactivating the millions of cards. The fine is based on sanctions of N200,000 ($1,000) for each unregistered card, an amount agreed in consultation with service providers in 2011.

Now it is imperative for one to understand the seriousness of what MTN did by violating Nigeria rules as directed by NCC (Nigeria Communication Commission). I would want to emphasize on two reason which are national security and corporate integrity. But be fore we get there let go through the history of Telecommunication in Nigeria.

Telecommunications in Nigeria

Telecommunications in Nigeria include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. In 1960, Nigeria became an independent country. Since independence, Nigeria as a nation has experienced frequent political changes. It has had eleven governments of which seven have been military and four civilian. Presently, Nigeria is having a military government.

The colonial infrastructures vis-a-vis roads, railways, telecommunication, system of administration, language and common rules of commerce, educational institutions and colonial townships-have all helped to rub the rural Nigerians of their tribal nature and made them available for the development of the new nation.

Urban areas have continued to grow and telecommunication facilities are increasing at a tremendous rate; educational institutions are growing and attracting more and more young people to come into contact with one another. Yet the nation’s general growth doesn’t seem to agree to this same pace. Inadequate or ineffective dissemination and use of information is assumed to be responsible for the slow pace of industrial development in Nigeria. For rapid industrialization, dissemination of usable research findings to industrialists in the language and format they understand is one major factor. The inability of the publication and utilization of research findings has also resulted in a considerable proportion of researchers carrying out activities which have very little or no relevance to science and technology and industrial developments.

While the existence of information does not necessarily ensure its use, the real value of an information system lies in the servicing of specific user needs. In order to solve this problem, and hoist the country on the path of greater technological and overall socio-economic development as well as create a new lease of life for the citizenry, a planned increase in penetration of telecommunications services has been seen as a welcome development for national growth.

Since Nigeria’s independence on October 1, 1960, up till 1995, only four national development plans were executed under the Ministry of Communications supervision, and these plans provided about 400,000 installed direct exchange lines (DEL). In 1992, barely seven years after NITEL (Plc) was established, new technologies – electro-magnetic digital, satellite fibre optic, INMARSAT, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) -were introduced into the national networks. Up till 1989, all the exchanges and transmission facilities were of analogue system. Nitel has now successfully introduced the digital system into the network with a total of over 160,000 digital lines since this operation started a couple of years ago.

Activities of NITEL laied the foundation of introduction of GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications, originally Groupe Spécial Mobile ) Into Nigeria. GSM is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile phones, first deployed in Finland in July 1991. As of 2014 it has become the default global standard for mobile communications – with over 90% market share, operating in over 219 countries and territories.

The Introduction of Global System for Mobile Communication(GSM) in Nigeria is traceable to the deregulation of the Telecommunication industry which gave birth to the GSM Revolution. Before the advent of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), the Nigeria Telecommunication Limited was saddled with the responsibility of providing means of communication basically the Landline which was bedevilled by gross inefficiency and corruption.The first GSM network provider that came on board was ECONET(now Airtel), formally launched on the 6/08/2001 and MTN Nigeria follow suit almost immediately. They were launched under the 900 and 1800 MHZ spectrum.

Nigeria right has four GSM carriers right now namely Airtel, MTN, Glo & Etisalat and more than 100 million users who from time to time voices out their disappointment on the standard of services provided by these carriers. They complain on various issues ranging from poor network, over billing and so on.

Impact of Fine

Fine or penalty is a punishment imposed for a violation of law. It is given when an agreement has been breached. They could come in the forms of Monetary payment, Jail Term etc. One of the world recent penalty cases was that of The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill) began on 20 April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP (British Petroleum) owned Transocean operated Macondo Prospect. Following the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July 2010. Eleven people went missing and were never found and it is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry, an estimated 8% to 31% larger in volume than the previously largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill.

Numerous investigations explored the causes of the explosion and record-setting spill. Notably, the U.S. government’s September 2011 report pointed to defective cement on the well, faulting mostly BP, but also rig operator Transocean and contractor Halliburton. In November 2012, BP and the United States Department of Justice settled federal criminal charges with BP pleading guilty to 11 counts of manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and a felony count of lying to Congress. BP also agreed to four years of government monitoring of its safety practices and ethics, and the Environmental Protection Agency announced that BP would be temporarily banned from new contracts with the US government. BP and the Department of Justice agreed to a record-setting $4.525 billion in fines and other payments but further legal proceedings not expected to conclude until 2014 are ongoing to determine payouts and fines under the Clean Water Act and the Natural Resources Damage Assessment. As of February 2013, criminal and civil settlements and payments to a trust fund had cost the company $42.2 billion.

5 years after the incident and they fines that followed suit BP had compelled BP to improve on its safety standards, In addition, they have committed long-term funding for independent research to improve our knowledge of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and better understand and mitigate the potential impacts of oil spills in the region and elsewhere.

One might argue that the fine had produced a positive effect or has caused positive change in the company’s business practices. So many would agree that Governments should fine companies operating on its soil who knowingly breaks it laws or directives.

Now let drive to the final point of this report which is centered on understanding the impact of MTN failure to ahead to NCC directives of SIM registration. Breaking it down into issues of national security and corporate integrity.

National Security

Since 2010 Nigeria under terror attacks by Islamic Sect Boko Haram. Boko Haram, which calls itself Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah. Its unexpected resurgence, following a mass prison break in September 2010, was accompanied by increasingly sophisticated attacks, initially against soft targets, and progressing in 2011 to include suicide bombings of police buildings and the United Nations office in Abuja. In mid-2014, the militants gained control of swathes of territory in and around their home state of Borno, estimated at 50,000 square kilometres (20,000 sq mi) in January 2015, but did not capture the state capital, Maiduguri, where the group was originally based. In April 2014 Boko Haram kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from Chibok. Shekau announced his intention of selling them into slavery. More than 50 escaped. The incident brought Boko Haram extended global media attention.
Nigeria has since been under insurgency and the battle of the peace and unity of Nigeria is both fought in the theater of war (Which is the physical/geographic location of the threat), on cyberspace and through communication network. SIM Registration helps Nigerian security agencies to identify terrorist, detect terror attacks and also investigate cases related to the nation’s security. SIM registration extols the virtues of National Security of which these agencies have been tasked to protect. So when an organisation which operates within the soil of a nation and under its laws knowingly violate/break such law like failure deactivate 5.2 million line which most might have been used by members of Islamic sect Boko Haram to commit acts of terror, kill innocent citizens, destroy properties worth billions. Then taking a leaf from the Gulf of Mexico incident, Such company should be fine and evaluated after that to actually identify positive change in their business practices.

Corporate Integrity

Corporate integrity/ Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations. This defines how companies operate, how they execute agreements etc.

Quoting Tony Ojobo, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) spokesman said “The fine is based on sanctions of N200,000 ($1,000) for each unregistered card, an amount agreed in consultation with service providers in 2011.”

Actually MTN was a signatory to the agreement in 2011 which involved other GSM providers like GLO, Airtel etc. Now this calls on integrity is an organisation can’t keep his words on an agreement between fellow companies and the government, how then would they be expected to fulfill the agreement they and its users to provide adequate services and seamless connectivity.

Conclusion

This fine should be used as a benchmark for change in corporate practices for both local and international firms doing business in Nigeria. Be you an Information technology Provider or a cement producer, delivery adequate and agreed standard of goods and services so as to avoid penalty.