African port authorities are considering closer cooperation on cybersecurity by sharing threat intelligence and adopting common digital standards, with ports increasingly relying on interconnected systems to manage cargo and trade.
Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and president of the Port Management Association of West and Central Africa (PMAWCA) was at the African Ports Conference in Casablanca, Morocco, where he proposed a working group on artificial intelligence and data governance, with cybersecurity and digital resilience among its responsibilities.
He said the framework would enable member ports to exchange timely alerts about cyber threats, share lessons from security incidents and benchmark performance. Dantsoho also called for common data standards to help different port systems exchange information.
He warned that the growing interconnection of port authorities, government agencies, shipping companies and terminal operators could expose port operations to disruptions if cybersecurity safeguards were inadequate.
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Dantsoho cited cyber incidents involving South Africa’s Transnet, Japan’s Port of Nagoya and DP World terminals in Australia as examples of how attacks on digital infrastructure could interrupt trade and cargo movement.
He urged ports to separate operational technology from administrative networks, enforce cybersecurity requirements for connected service providers, test recovery systems and train personnel to identify and report threats.
The proposals come as Nigeria advances port digitalisation through the National Single Window and a beta version of the Port Community System, which are intended to improve coordination among Customs, terminal operators, shipping lines and regulatory agencies.
“A single window must not become a single point of failure,” he said. Nigeria launched the first phase of its NSW in March this year with import permit processing. By November, it expects to go live with export permit approvals.
He also called on each PMAWCA member port to identify one AI pilot project with measurable targets, an accountable implementation team and a baseline against which results could be assessed. Progress on the proposed initiatives are to be reported at PMAWCA’s next Annual Council in Sipopo, Malabo in Equatorial Guinea.
Bethel Olujobi is the Trade Correspondent at BusinessDay. He brings scarce insight into Nigeria's maritime policies and the changing currents of global commerce defining the country's position in international trade. Before this, he reported on foreign relations, migration and sports for BusinessDay. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication, and is an alumni of the CNN Academy and the Financial Times News School. He is certified by Reuters and Google. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. For pitches, email: [email protected]
