Urges telecom, financial services providers to tighten noose

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), through its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (CERRT), has detected activities of hackers targeting vital digital infrastructure.

According to the agency, the hacktivist group, known for its politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns, poses a significant risk to critical information infrastructure.

“Their tactics include targeted attacks on government digital services, using various attack types, particularly DDoS. They have a track record of successful attacks in various countries,” NITDA disclosed.

Consequently, the agency called on financial services providers, telecommunications providers and relevant government agencies to ensure cyber security and resilience by implementing necessary measures against potential attacks.

In a statement, yesterday, in Abuja, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations, Mrs. Hadiza Umar, noted that the consequences of such attacks were always severe and might have wide-ranging impact, including disruption of critical services, economic losses, as well as public trust and reputation loss.

She, therefore, warned the general public against attacks, underscoring “the undeniable and concerning fact that cyber attacks are not a distant threat, but a danger that resides much closer to us than we might have acknowledged.”

To guard against attacks targeted at government institutions and other critical sectors, Umar advised all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and other providers of critical services in the country to ensure the implementation of measures against DDoS attacks, such as deploying DDoS monitoring systems to watch out for signs of attacks.

She said: “Other measures include minimising the attack surface area, thereby limiting the options for attackers and allowing you to build protection in a single place like obscuring the target, closing unused ports and implementing or subscribing to DDoS protection features, applications or services to fortify your cyber defences against disruptive DDoS attacks”