NITDA Adds DNSSEC Checks for .Gov.ng Website Security

In Short

NITDA has added DNSSEC to its cybersecurity assessment criteria for all Nigerian Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The agency also urged government websites using the .gov.ng domain to adopt DNSSEC.

What Happened: How NITDA Wants MDAs To Use DNSSEC

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) is now part of its cybersecurity assessment framework for all MDAs.

NITDA also called for government websites on the .gov.ng domain to adopt DNSSEC. DNSSEC is a security extension for the Domain Name System, the system that translates a website name into the numerical address computers use. DNSSEC uses digital signatures to help verify that domain name records are authentic and have not been tampered with.

NITDA Director General Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi disclosed the policy during a cybersecurity awareness webinar organised by the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) through its .ng Academy.

Represented by Oluwasegun Falayan, Abdullahi said government institutions need to secure their domain names, not only register them. He said, “we must ensure that every .gov.ng is signed as much as possible,” and that DNS should be included in every security assessment.

NiRA President Adesola Akinsanya said DNSSEC is an “important layer of protection” for Nigeria’s digital infrastructure, but warned that poor implementation can create new problems. He said adopting DNSSEC without the required technical expertise could make websites inaccessible to users whose DNS resolvers validate signatures.

Akinsanya also said DNSSEC does not encrypt internet traffic, prevent distributed denial-of-service attacks, or protect against compromised registrar credentials. He added that securing the domain layer needs cooperation across government agencies, internet service providers, domain registrars, businesses, and cybersecurity professionals.

Why It Matters: More Rules For Government Digital Infrastructure

By adding DNSSEC to assessments, NITDA is signalling that domain security will be checked as part of how government organisations are evaluated.

The webinar also pointed to the scale of cyber threats. Akinsanya cited figures he attributed to Check Point, saying the average Nigerian organisation faced about 4,361 attempted cyberattacks weekly in June, compared with a global average of about 2,270.

He also referenced Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) figures showing digital payment fraud amounted to N25.85 billion in 2025.