Nigerians face data privacy risk over compromised NIN details
also ft Kenya's magical internet glitch
Hi all, today’s newsletter is a bit late as the team grapples with Nigeria’s worsening internet connection, which is spurring conversations around connectivity in Africa. Over this week, observers noted disruptions in Kenya’s internet amidst civil protests against the tax bill.
I like to think the lack of Internet connectivity is one of the reasons why things have been so quiet in Sudan, which is suffering from one of the world’s most devastating humanitarian crisis as a result of political conflict between warring parties. Both parties have consciously targeted communication facilities in their conflict, leaving ordinary people wall-blocked in the midst of crisis.
Sudan is a place where the West almost does not care, the East is deeply complicit in the situation, and the people have been stifled from this thing called the internet so they struggle to tell their own stories.
Let’s get into today’s newsletter proper.
- Olatunji
CybAfriqué is a space for news and analysis on Africa’s cyber, data, and information security.
HIGHLIGHTS
Nigerians face data privacy risk over compromised NIN details
Nigeria’s Identity Management Commission can’t seem to rest from allegations. Last week, Paradigm Initiative released a report culminating from investigations on id-verification-for-hire websites where anyone could verify the identity details of any Nigerians for as low as 100 naira (6.5 cents). This comes just months after similar investigations were raised in March by FIJ.
These websites have and share unregulated access to identification numbers of citizens and other details on the citizen’s National Identification Number (NIN) slip or ID card, making affected individuals vulnerable to cyber fraud such as identity theft, blackmail, and other related cyber crimes.
In 2023, Nigeria ranked 9th country targeted for National ID fraud in Africa, Identity verification startup, Smile Identity observed in a 2024 Digital Identity Fraud Report.
According to reports, XpressVerify has been taken down, and similar operations by five other websites identified.
In a statement by NIMC, the websites listed above were flagged as unlicensed as even authorized partners and vendors are not required to store NIN slips but only collect data against verifying on the NIMC database.
Nigeria’s data protection agency, National Commission of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) in April offset NIMC’s negligence, and says they are investigating the current incident. NDPC can fine companies that fail to adhere to compliance measures a maximum of ₦10 million or 2% of their annual gross revenue in the preceding year, per the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Internet shutdown in Kenya exposes cyber insecurity in Africa
Following digital and physical activism against the 2024 Finance Bill in Kenya, observers are saying the Kenyan government might have tried disrupting internet connections, although Kenyan authorities have refuted this.
Internet outages are especially prominent in Africa and Asia, especially in places under civil conflict like Sudan, and in response to political dissidence and organizing. This report found that several African countries face stringent stances on internet freedom.
This might or might not highlight the fragility of Africa’s digital ecosystem. The impact of these outages often cut across alienation of communication during times of crisisn, economic impact on domestic economy, and abuse of fundamental human rights.
Credit: Statista
“Under international law, governments have an obligation to ensure that any restrictions to information online are provided by law, are a necessary and proportionate response to a specific threat, and are in the public interest,” Deborah Brown, a senior technology researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch, told the World Economic Forum.
FEATURES
In Lesotho, “missing clauses” in the draft of its Computer Crimes and Cybersecurity Bill allow experts to review more measures to enhance the cyber security outlook in the country. Experts seek practical cybersecurity strategies to complement legislation.
Nigeria’s cybercrime act threatens the freedom of the press and implicates journalists.
Like a gun or car, manuals to operate these tools effectively are properly detailed. A South African professor advocates that citizens understand the risk factors associated with using products online.
HEADLINES
OccupyParliament protesters hit the streets today as Kenya denies rumours of an internet shutdown - TechCabal
Suspected Chinese hackers step up attacks on Kenyan government agencies - TechTrends
NIMC denies data breach allegations, to prosecute harvesters - Punch
DR Congo Biometric National ID Project Faces Cancellation Over Alleged Financial Irregularities - Regtech Africa
Police nail 45 suspects in fake SIM crackdown - MyBroadband
Data debacle: Unauthorised websites offer NIN verification despite NIMC blacklist - TechCabal
Cybersecurity Cafés in Togo: A second edition on security incident management - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine
Tap and Oh No: Card yapping turns expensive with new scam - Security Focus Africa
Data security in Senegal: Towards the development of a new law on data protection - Africa Cybersecurity Magazine
ACROSS THE WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
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