By JESSICA DOGO

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a new regulation, named “Telecommunications Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS)” platform aimed to boost digital security nationwide,

The Executive Vice-Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja, while delivering his keynote address.

Maida said that TIRMS would curb fraudulent transactions in the nation’s digital ecosystem.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the one-day stakeholder forum on TIRMS, had attendees drawn from the telecommunications industry.

Maida, represented by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management (ECSM) Ms Rimini Makama, said that the Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number (MSISDN) commonly known as the SIM or mobile phone number, had evolved into a critical identifier.

He said that this had underpinned financial transactions, digital authentication and access to essential services across all sectors of Nigeria’s economy.

The EVC said that the evolution, however, had created new and challenging vulnerabilities.

“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,” he stated.

According to him, TIRMS is a secure, regulatory backed, cross-sectoral platform, designed to provide a uniform approach for managing all risks relating to the integrity and utilisation of registered MSISDNs, on the country’s communications network.

“Its objectives are to improve access to mobile number across key sectors, to aid user accountability, reduce fraud risks by enabling service providers to verify mobile numbers flagged for dormancy, suspicious, criminal and fraudulent activities.

“This is 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,” Maida stated.

The EVC noted that the commission had proposed targeted 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,

“These 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,” he said.

The Director of Cybersecurity and Internet Governance, NCC, Ms Olatokunbo Oyeleye, in her remarks, noted that digital trust was the operating licence of modern economy, adding that without it, nothing scaled and with it, everything accelerated.

“For our sector, this trust must be embedded across the entire value chain,” she said.

According to her, TIRMS is 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. (NAN)

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