The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has uncovered actions of a hacktivist group attacking our critical digital infrastructure through its Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team.
According to NITDA, the hacktivist group, which is notorious for its politically and religiously motivated cyber attacks, poses a substantial threat to the country’s essential information infrastructure.
According to Mrs. Hadiza Umar, NITDA’s Head of Corporate Affairs and External Relations, “their tactics include targeted attacks on government digital services, using various attack types, particularly DDoS attacks, and they have a track record of successful attacks in various countries.”
NITDA, on the other hand, warned the general public to be aware of the incidence of these attacks, which it claimed highlights the indisputable and worrying truth that cyber-attacks are a looming risk that dwells much closer than one may have previously accepted.
“This realisation compels us to recognise the urgency of fortifying our cyber front, fortifying our digital defences to protect our critical information and infrastructure from these malicious intrusions.”
“The consequences of such cyber-attacks are always severe and can have far-reaching consequences, such as disruption of critical services, economic losses, and loss of public trust and reputation.”
“To advise all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, as well as other providers of critical services in the country, the National Information Technology Development Agency’s Computer Emergency Readiness and Response Team (NITDA-CERRT) seeks to advise all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, including other providers of critical services, to ensure the implementation of measures to prevent DDOS attacks.”
NITDA recommended MDAs and other important service providers to adopt DDoS Monitoring systems to detect symptoms of DDoS assaults.
NITDA further requested that the affected firms consider “minimising the attack surface area, thereby limiting the options for attackers and allowing you to build protections in a single location.” For example, concealing the target and eliminating unneeded ports and protocols reduces the number of possible sites of attack.
“Installing or subscribing to DDoS protection features, applications, or services in order to fortify your cyber defences against disruptive DDoS attacks.” Rate limiting, load balancing, traffic filtering, Content Delivery Networks (CDN), Web application Firewalls, and so on are some examples.
“Ensuring that hosting providers provide abundant redundant Internet connectivity, allowing systems to effectively manage large volumes of traffic.”
