In furtherance of its sustained regulatory measures to protect Nigerians and foreigners resident in the country from cyber-linked frauds, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has launched the Telecommunications Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) platform aimed at strengthening digital security nationwide.
The Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO of the commission, Dr Aminu Maida, made the spoke on the platform on Thursday while delivering his keynote address at the one-day stakeholder forum on TIRMS, assured that the implementation of the TIRMS would curb fraudulent transactions in the nation’s digital ecosystem.
Represented at the forum by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management (ECSM), Ms Rimini Makama, the EVC explained that the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) commonly known as the SIM or mobile phone number, had evolved into a critical identifier in financial transactions, digital authentication and access to essential services across all sectors of the nation’s economy.
According to him, despite the benefits of the technological innovations, it has also created challenging vulnerabilities that should be effectively monitored and avoided by telecoms subscribers.
- Advertisement -
The industry expert clarified: “The fraudulent use of churned, recycled, swapped and barred MISISDNs has become a significant vector for financial fraud and identity theft.
“It is eroding public trust in our digital platforms and undermining the identity of systems we have worked hard to build. It is in direct response to these challenges, that the commission has initiated the TIRMS platform”, the EVC/CEO added.
Maida described the TIRMS as a secure, regulatory-backed and cross-sectoral platform designed to provide an integrated approach for managing all risks relating to the integrity and utilisation of registered MSISDNs on the nation’s communications network.
Specifically, he listed the objectives of the TIRMS as including improvement of access to mobile number across key sectors, aiding user accountability, reduction of fraud risks by enabling service providers to verify mobile numbers flagged for dormancy, suspicious, criminal and fraudulent activities.
Maida clarified that this goals are before granting access to services and to enhance digital security by ensuring service providers across all sectors can proactively verify and validate customer mobile number status.
He also hinted of the commission’s proposed amendments to the Quality of Service (QOS) Business Rules and Registration of Communications Subscribers Regulations Business Rules, to strengthen the regulatory foundation for the TIRMS platform, adding that the “proposed amendments will, among other things, require operators to notify affected subscribers at least 14 days, before any line is churned.
“Mandate the submission of all churn number details to the TIRMS platform, within seven days of completion of the churn process and establish a new framework for the blocking of fraudulently registered or fraudulently utilised MSISDNs”, the EVC added.
Speaking at the forum, the commission’s Director of Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, Ms Olatokunbo Oyeleye, described digital trust as the operating licence of modern economy and that with it, everything accelerated.
She added that the TIRMS was designed to strengthen coordination across relevant sectors, to enhance identity assurance of mobile numbers and prevent fraud, stemming from churned, swapped and recycled mobile numbers, among other benefits.
