Examining the Research Gap in Cyber Threat Intelligence for Critical Infrastructure Protection in Nigeria

Cyber threat intelligence capabilities are essential for proactive protection of critical national infrastructure, yet the research base for CTI specifically addressing Nigerian critical infrastructure threats remains extremely limited. This study examined the research gap in CTI for critical infrastructure protection in Nigeria through systematic review and expert consultation research. A systematic scoping review of eleven databases identified 112 publications from 2019 to 2024 on CTI for critical infrastructure, of which only 4 specifically addressed Nigerian or West African contexts. Expert consultation research comprised structured interviews with 25 cybersecurity professionals from five critical infrastructure sectors in Abuja and Lagos. The interviews confirmed that 80.0 percent of organisations had no dedicated CTI function, only 32.0 percent subscribed to any commercial threat intelligence feed, and context-specific Nigerian threat intelligence was absent from all commercial feeds used. The study identifies six specific CTI research priorities for Nigerian critical infrastructure, proposes an original National CTI Framework design, and recommends NITDA commission a National Cyber Threat Profile as an annual publication to provide Nigerian organisations with actionable sector-specific threat intelligence that accounts for local threat actor activities and attack patterns.

Keywords: cyber threat intelligence, critical infrastructure, Nigeria, CTI framework, research gap The study also recommends that NITDA commission a National Cyber Threat Profile as an annual sectoral publication, enabling Nigerian organisations to act on actionable, locally calibrated threat intelligence derived from domestic and regional sources.