THE report that personal details of more than 60 serving and retired officers of the State Security Service (SSS) were ' and still are, according to press reports ' posted on the Internet obviously for all who care to know, is an embarrassment to the elite security organisation and to this country. This breach is worrisome and should instigate both the SSS leadership and the Federal Government, to get to the root of the matter. The suspected origin of the SSS list, which includes the sitting head of the organisation, ranges from the Boko Haram terrorists, through aggrieved interests in the pension management sector, to hackers acting independently. It may be granted that hackers do infiltrate the information and communication systems of agencies of even the most advanced nations.To that extent, no one may be absolutely secure. However, whatever the source of this breach of security, that it happened at all is the main issue. For it should not have. It puts at risk men and women who have served, or are serving their country in very sensitive capacities and who should rightly expect to be protected from exposure.Regardless of the official explanation reportedly given by the SSS spokesperson, Marilyn Ogar, the basic statement of this incident is that the organisation has failed to secure itself sufficiently. It may also raise bigger questions as to the readiness of the organisation to secure the nation. This is unfortunate, but above all, absolutely unacceptable. It would appear that until now, the organisation has not been sufficiently sensitised on the necessity to fully guard its information apparatus, and to prevent leakage. It is reported that the leadership of the SSS has set in motion an investigation of sorts. Nothing short of a full and high-powered investigation into the matter will do, and government should, without delay, act in this direction. The SSS spokesperson had been quoted as saying, among other things, that 'the report is false because the (Associated Press) reporter that filed the story failed to give me the link to the website'' While the motive and method of the AP report may deserve to be interrogated, it is clear that the SSS spokesperson did not try hard enough to trace the compromised information on her organisation.That information on staff of a supposedly shadowy secret ' and secretive organisation could be accessed and divulged in this manner indicates a serious flaw in the management and security of its information. But, in this age, information and the technology that disseminates it are crucial to the security of nations. It is obvious that Nigeria is in the global arena with all the attendant benefits and risks. This being so, the question arises: is the security system of our nation prepared for the cyberspace challenges of the times' It is a question for the authorities in charge of national security to answer ' and urgently too.This incident is a warning sign that more sinister things may occur. The SSS, as well as other security bodies must see this as a challenge to erect appropriate 'firewall' around their information and communication systems. In particular, the SSS and indeed other public security outfits should be mindful of the possibility of unauthorised, nay criminal intrusion into their information archives, as the current incident underlines. What is more important is for the agencies not to be unduly nervous, but to innovate more fool-proof methods of saving vital information; and keeping such away from the prying eyes of the opposition in whatever form. The Federal Government should do everything within its powers to support these agencies to discharge their respective duties to the nation most competently and more effectively.In the 21st century, there is no hiding place for the complacent, the unserious, and the mediocre. Only globally-acknowledged best practices will sustain a nation.
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