Despite efforts by government to check escalating cyber crimes in the country, report has emerged that financial losses from frauds relating to cyberattacks increased by 350 per cent within a period of four years.

Diclosing this in Lagos yesterday, the Group COO of Routelink Group, Stanley Oduah, said the amount skyrocketed from N11.61 billion in 2020 to a staggering N52.26 billion last year.

According to him, in spite of the drop in the number of reported fraud cases from 101,624 in 2020 to 70,111 in 2024, the said amount was still lost to all manners of cyber crimes.

He also cited a recent report that shows that fraud linked to bank branches alone jumped from N133.9 million in Q1’24 to N42.2 billion in Q2’24, suggesting that attackers are focusing on high-value targets.

Oduah, who revealed the losses at the unveiling of advanced cybersecurity solution with free assessment for enterprises to evaluate their risk exposure, emphasised the need to strengthen email security.

He said Phishing was still the easiest way for attackers to breach a system, noting that Routelink’s email security ensured that fraudulent emails never reach employees.

Unveiling the cyber security solution in partnership with Qualys at a virtual webinar titled, “DeRisking Your Organisation From Cyber Threats with Routelink & Qualys,’’ Oduah said the window for free assessment would last for one month, adding that both webinar attendees and non-attendees would enjoy the exclusive offer within the period.

Justifying the need for an advanced cybersecurity solution, he explained that while cybercrime is on the rise in general, the data from Nigeria is particularly alarming. He said: “Routelink & Qualys provide a combined approach to proactive cybersecurity.

Routelink Group specialises in providing enterprise solutions to secure and manage enterprise data. “It focuses on email security because 91% of cyberattacks start with a phishing email.

Its solution blocks phishing attempts, detects email spoofing, and ensures that fraudulent emails never reach employees’ inboxes.

“On the other hand, Qualys, a global cybersecurity powerhouse, helps businesses strengthen their cybersecurity posture through real-time vulnerability scanning, endpoint protection, and continuous security monitoring.

“While Routelink solutions are strong and reliable to stop phishing emails, Qualys solution helps to ensure more security with real-time vulnerability scanning.”

“When used together, Oduah said Routelink prevents initial breaches through email security, and Qualys ensures that any weaknesses in the infrastructure are identified and patched before they can be exploited.”