Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is facing a growing cybersecurity threat as attackers increasingly use smaller companies as entry points to reach larger targets, technology firms have warned.
The warning was issued during a customer engagement hosted by Quomodo in partnership with Check Point Systems in Lagos, where executives discussed the growing use of AI-enabled security tools to protect oil and gas companies.
Stakeholders said the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by attackers is making cyber threats more difficult to contain, particularly across an industry that remains critical to Nigeria’s economy.
Olufunke Tonye-Preghafi, chief financial officer of Quomodo Systems Africa, said the company had observed increasing attacks targeting the oil and gas industry, with smaller companies potentially serving as a pathway to larger organisations. ‘We are beginning to see an increase of attacks in the oil and gas,’ she said.
According to Tonye-Preghafi, attackers may initially target smaller oil companies rather than going directly after major operators because these businesses can provide a route towards larger companies.
‘So, once you are able to hit small oil companies, they begin to get more intelligent. Then, they will now target bigger companies,’ she said.
The development adds another layer to the cybersecurity risks facing Nigeria’s oil industry, where companies operate interconnected systems, suppliers and service providers.
For smaller operators, a cyberattack may therefore have consequences beyond the immediate victim if compromised systems, credentials or business relationships provide attackers with access to larger organisations. The threat is also being amplified by the increasing sophistication of AI.
Tonye-Preghafi said AI could allow attackers to generate attacks at a scale that would be difficult for conventional security processes to handle.
‘AI can throw out 5,000 prompts and bring out 400,000 attacks,’ she said, stressing the need for organisations across sectors to strengthen their security posture.
For Nigeria, the risk is particularly significant because of the economic importance of oil and gas.
Tonye-Preghafi said more attention was needed to protect the sector, despite its importance to the Nigerian economy. ‘Not much has been done for the protection of the industry,’ she said.
The partnership is also positioning Quomodo as a local route into Nigeria’s enterprise cybersecurity market for Check Point.
Happiness Udo described Quomodo as one of Check Point’s strategic partners and said the Nigerian company provides an important route through which Check Point’s products and solutions reach businesses.
The partnership comes as Nigerian companies face a more complicated digital environment, with cloud services, remote workplaces, connected infrastructure and expanding digital operations creating more points that need protection.
For the oil and gas sector, the challenge is broader than protecting individual computers or corporate networks.
A compromised smaller company can potentially expose information, credentials or connections linked to larger organisations, making cybersecurity increasingly a supply-chain issue.
The growing use of AI by attackers could further shorten the time businesses have to identify and contain threats.
For Nigeria’s oil industry, the shift means cybersecurity is increasingly becoming part of the wider protection of the infrastructure and commercial relationships that keep the sector operating.