The National Information Technology Development Agency has warned Nigerians and organisations against entering personal, classified or confidential information into public artificial intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Copilot.
NITDA issued the warning in an advisory posted by its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team, CERRT.NG, amid growing concerns over data protection and cybersecurity risks associated with the use of public AI tools.
The agency said organisations and their employees could inadvertently expose sensitive information when using publicly available AI platforms for tasks such as drafting documents, conducting research and carrying out other workplace activities.
NITDA said information entered into public AI platforms may no longer remain fully under the control of the individual or organisation that provided it.
According to the agency, such information could be stored, logged or used by service providers for various purposes, including training or improving AI models, depending on their data-handling practices.
It warned that employees could accidentally expose Personally Identifiable Information, classified government material or confidential organisational data while interacting with AI tools.
NITDA said the exposure of personal information could amount to a data breach and potentially violate data protection laws, which could result in legal consequences for individuals or organisations.
The agency also warned that sharing classified, official-use or confidential information with external AI providers could pose risks to national security and public trust.
It added that employees and organisations could face disciplinary or legal consequences if sensitive information is improperly disclosed.
NITDA advised organisations to use only AI tools approved for official work and urged employees to remove, anonymise or pseudonymise personal and other sensitive information before entering it into AI platforms.
The agency also urged users to review the privacy and data-handling policies of AI platforms before using them, particularly when dealing with sensitive information.
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It cautioned employees against uploading internal documents to public AI tools unless they have specific permission to do so.
The agency further called on organisations and their staff to comply with existing artificial intelligence, information security and data protection policies when using AI-powered tools.
The warning comes amid growing concerns over data breaches caused by employee mistakes, cyberattacks and weak data protection practices.
A report published by Nairametrics in August, citing Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, said ordinary employee mistakes accounted for eight per cent of data breaches, while sending information to the wrong recipient accounted for 64 per cent of reported errors.
NITDA has continued to issue warnings over emerging cybersecurity threats as the adoption of digital and AI technologies increases.
In May, the agency warned organisations and individuals about DeepLoad, an AI-powered malware capable of stealing passwords stored in web browsers and other sensitive information.
In June, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission announced plans to review the Nigeria Data Protection Act to address emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, big data and robotics.
About the Author
Cecilia Attah is a tech analyst with a degree from Benue State University. She covers tech news and startups at TechRegard with a focus on how technology is transforming Africa and shaping the global landscape.
