TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a crucial advisory warning about the activities of a hacktivist group targeting the nation’s vital digital infrastructure. Known for their politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns, this group poses a significant risk to critical information systems.

NITDA emphasizes the urgent need to reinforce cyber defenses and protect against malicious intrusions that could lead to severe consequences.The advisory highlights the gravity of cyber-attacks, urging the public to recognize the imminent danger.

The consequences of such attacks include disruption of critical services, economic losses, and damage to public trust and reputation.

To prevent such attacks on government institutions and other critical sectors, NITDA-CERRT advises implementing preventive measures.These measures include

deploying DDoS monitoring systems, reducing the attack surface area, and implementing DDoS protection features like rate limiting, load balancing, and traffic filtering.

Hosting providers are urged to offer redundant Internet connectivity to manage high volumes of traffic effectively.

Additionally, configuring network hardware such as firewalls and routers to block certain incoming packets can help in enhancing cybersecurity readiness.

The advisory also emphasizes the need for enhancing cybersecurity measures across all critical national infrastructures, including financial services providers, telecommunications companies, and government service providers. These measures aim to safeguard against potential attacks and ensure the resilience of the nation’s critical digital infrastructure.

As the threat of cyber-attacks looms, NITDA’s advisory serves as a crucial reminder for individuals, institutions, and organizations to take immediate action in fortifying their cyber defenses and protecting the nation’s digital assets from harm.

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TECHDIGEST – The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a warning to the public regarding a viral grant scheme circulating on social media under the name ‘President Bola Tinubu’s N50,000 Cash Grant’ to Nigerians.

NITDA discredited phishing emails and urged caution when dealing with unknown links and untrusted websites to prevent falling victim to cybercriminals.

The scheme, which claims to offer a cash grant of N50,000, is actually a phishing website designed to deceive individuals into providing personal information for fraudulent purposes.

NITDA emphasized that if such programs existed, the government would communicate them through appropriate channels.

READ ALSO: NITDA Showcased Nigeria’s Innovative IT Policy at  2023 London Blockchain Conference

In an official statement signed by Mrs. Hadiza Umar, Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations at NITDA, released on Wednesday, the agency described the scheme as fake and fraudulent.

Umar cautioned Nigerians about the phishing website associated with the grant, highlighting its purpose of misleading unsuspecting citizens.

According to NITDA, their Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (NITDA-CERRT) discovered that the website is being used to gather people’s information for fraudulent activities.

The agency advises the public to refrain from clicking on unknown links and

specifically warns against accessing the website ‘https://thryt.com/50k-CashGrants‘ and similar websites.

These sites aim to trick users into divulging personal information, including full name, phone number, home address, email address, bank account details, such as the bank’s name and account number.

NITDA further stresses that any genuine government programs would be communicated through the appropriate agency responsible for supervising such initiatives.

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The National Information Technology Development Agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (NITDA-CERRT) has urged all government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to take extra security precautions by hardening their cyber defences and performing due diligence in identifying indicators of malicious activity that could affect their networks, assets, and critical national infrastructure.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, cyber attacks on businesses and government organizations have grown, with the possibility of spillover cyber attacks against non-primary targets becoming far more frequent.

In a statement made available to newsmen, said: “There is a greater danger for countries doing business in or with these countries’ governments, as well as businesses or countries that apply sanctions or are believed to intervene.”

Therefore, Ministries Departments Agencies are advised to use the following steps to prevent such attacks.

“Carry out checks for possible vulnerabilities on their systems and implement appropriate remediations.
Always ensure software’s are updated.Carry out regular patches on all systems.

“Secure and monitor remote desktop protocol and other risky services.
Carry out awareness on cyber security best practices to sensitized employees and users of services. It said.

Organizations are however, invited to sign up for NITDA’s free web protection service, which will provide MDAs’ administrators with detailed information about the vulnerability of their web services.

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