The National Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, Dr Vincent Olatunji, has disclosed that hackers launched more than 2,000 attacks on the commission’s service portal within one week.

Olatunji made this known on Monday in Abuja during a Technical and Organisational Drill on Data Protection Measures for IT Administrators across Ministries, Departments and Agencies organised by the NDPC.

According to him, the attacks highlight the growing cyber threats facing government institutions as Nigeria intensifies efforts toward digitalisation and electronic governance.

“Within one week, we experienced more than 2,000 attempts on our service portal. More than 2,000 within one week. You can imagine what that means,” he said.

The NDPC boss explained that cyberattacks on government institutions are often aimed at disrupting services, embarrassing agencies or carrying out financial and data-related crimes.

He noted that many public institutions have become attractive targets for cybercriminals as more government services move online.

Olatunji stated that the Federal Government was currently expanding digital integration across ministries and agencies, with more than 100 government institutions already involved in various digitalisation initiatives.

He added that some ministries had already become fully digitalised, while others were being encouraged to adopt electronic systems for seamless public service delivery.

According to him, the increasing digital transformation requires stronger cybersecurity measures and skilled personnel capable of defending government networks and protecting sensitive data.

The commissioner stressed that technology alone cannot secure government systems without trained professionals to manage cyber risks effectively.

He called for the development of “cyber warriors” across government institutions to strengthen Nigeria’s cybersecurity architecture.

Olatunji also urged ministries, departments, and agencies to comply fully with the Nigeria Data Protection Act by establishing proper technical and organisational safeguards for the protection of citizens’ data.

He revealed that compliance with data protection regulations within the public sector had improved from about four per cent when the commission began operations to over 20 per cent currently.

The NDPC chief further disclosed that many MDAs now include data protection and privacy measures in their budgets and are appointing data protection officers to oversee compliance.

He encouraged participants at the training programme to apply the knowledge gained in strengthening cyber resilience within their respective organisations.

Officials at the event also noted that the workshop was designed to equip IT administrators with practical skills in data protection, cybersecurity governance, cloud security, encryption, cyber incident response, and risk management as cyber threats continue to evolve across the public sector.