Internet surveillance by foreign firm

President Goodluck Jonathan’s declaration of a state of emergency has been endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Nigerians. But the award of a contract to spy on Nigerians’ computers, phones and internet activity by an Israeli firm, as an added security measure to tackle insecurity, has received backlash. The whole affair shows desperation and a disregard for transparent governance.

In April, the government awarded a $40 million internet surveillance contract to an Israeli firm, Elbit Systems Ltd, an international defence electronics company. Under the secretive arrangement, the Israeli firm is expected to provide Wise Intelligence Technology (WiT), “a system for intelligence analysis and cyber defence”. WiT, integrated with two other Elbit solutions – Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) and PC Surveillance System (PSS), “an advance solution for covert intelligence gathering” – will collect, process and disseminate data from multiple data sources.

It is understandable that the contract to Elbit Systems is a move by the government to tackle insecurity and terrorist activity in the country, an excruciating situation that made the government seem weak. Perhaps, also, it is why the government in its 2013 budget made a provision of over N1 trillion (about 24 percent of the entire budget) for security purposes, an increase of N135 billion over what was appropriated for the sector in 2012.

However, the matter of monitoring Nigeria’s communication space has been poorly handled. Has government ensured, through the State Security Service (SSS), that the technology being provided is secure – that is, will data collected find its way through a “back-door”? Will the surveillance system cover operations of government’s agents, security operatives and citizens? Allowing foreign elements to monitor communication amounts to jeopardising the security of the nation. 

We understand that government does not want to take chances in nipping the activities of terrorist groups which have killed several people in the last three years and destroyed property worth billions of naira, but handing over the internal security of the nation to a foreign firm is equally dangerous.

This isn’t to say government’s effort to improve security has been stagnant – for instance, there are plans to install the Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) donated by the US for monitoring our infamously porous borders. Political will and smart governance have checked terrorists and kidnapping gangs, especially in Lagos. Both the state government and the police must be commended. The Federal Government, too, must be commended for cooperating with other West African countries to secure the Gulf of Guinea from privacy. In addition, discussions with the US on the scope and mission to develop an intelligence fusion centre to improve intelligence, analysis and dissemination are most welcome.

Nevertheless, to robustly secure the country, government perhaps needs to understand how surveillance works in other climes, e.g., the appropriate legal framework, how local capacity is developed, etc, instead of adopting desperate measures to prod into people’s privacy.