Connect with us

E-Business

Osibanjo Urges Military to use Technology to Defeat Terrorists

Published

on

Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo
Kindly share this post

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday told the military elite to be on the cutting edge of technology to defeat cyber hackers and terrorists and create a better future for the citizenry.

He gave the charge in his address at the Silver Jubilee and graduation of 133 military and para-military participants of the Course 25 of the National Defence College, Abuja.

The Acting President, whose message was titled: “The Battle has Changed,’’ noted that the nation was today facing new challenges and character in warfare, terror and all manners of insurgency.

According to him, terror groups and cyber criminals had used modern technologies to spread useless ideologies and defraud the people and the country cannot afford not to use the same strategies to respond to insurgency.

“I challenge the elite of our armed forces  that if militants, terrorist groups and internet hackers are constantly re-inventing themselves taking advantage of emerging technologies, you have no reason whatsoever not to be at the cutting edge of technological warfare.

“You must consistently redefine your role in national security architecture,’’ he said.

The Acting president reemphasized that the role of the military was as critical as ever not just in the traditional areas of terrorist threats and protecting lives and property.

He said that the military of the 21stcentury must realise that it had a role to play in supplying re-enforcement in the ideas that today define the world.

He noted that the military should realise that in the fight against religious extremism “it is much easier to win the war than to win the peace; it is easier to neutralize the extremists that to neutralize extremist ideologies.

“That is the critical challenge for us in the North East and the critical challenge for many countries that had to do with extremist ideologies and the insurgencies they had.

He asked that having won the physical battle against terror how would the military position itself to win the hearts and minds of the people and win them over.

Osinbajo stated that one of the priorities of government was the comprehensive rebuilding of the North East.

He added that it was also part of the strategy to win the minds of the people by directly investing and restoring schools and hospitals and government institutions and so on.

According to him the stratagem was to send the message that government wanted to create a better life and a future for them.

“The lesson then is that in the future we must not wait until things are fallen apart before we show as a government and elite that we care for our people.’’

He said that going forward the military must prepare for the future before it unfolded and be able to anticipate and tackle embedded threats.

Osinbajo also noted the threats to electoral processes caused by fraudulent internet users and said that as Nigeria approached the 2019 elections those were the kinds of threats the nation would contend with.

He said that even in daily lives the people had to contend with fake news adding that a website operated from Ukraine had swayed the minds of the Nigerian youth even as it was neither based in Nigeria nor owned by a Nigerian.

Osinbajo said he was delighted to be at the graduation of the training institution for the high ranking members of the military.

He described the graduating set as a special one having presented to him a priceless research paper on fighting terrorism and national security.

He said it was gratifying to note that the course played host to Nigerian and foreign nationals which showed the spirit of collaboration among nations.

He told the graduands that having achieved the academic feat they must explore further professional horizon.


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

E-Business

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.

Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

 

China state-backed Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon as well as China-based Storm-2603 were said to have “exploited vulnerabilities” in on-premises SharePoint servers, the kind used by firms, but not in its cloud-based service.

The US tech giant has released security updates in response and has advised all on-premises SharePoint server customers to install them.

“Investigations into other actors also using these exploits are still ongoing,” Microsoft said in a statement.

The firm said it had “high confidence” the hackers would continue to target systems which have not installed its security updates.

It added that it would update its website blog with more information as its investigation continues.

Microsoft said it had observed attacks in which hackers had sent a request to a SharePoint server “enabling the theft of the key material by threat actors”.

Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Mandiant Consulting firm, a division of Google Cloud, told reporter, it was “aware of several victims in several different sectors across a number of global geographies”.

Carmakal said it appeared that governments and businesses that use SharePoint on their sites were the primary target.

A number of adversaries who stole material encoded by cryptography were then able to regain ongoing access to the victims’ SharePoint data, he said.

“This was exploited in a very broad way, very opportunistically before a patch was made available. That’s why this is significant,” Carmakal said.

Carmakal said the “China-nexus actor” was deploying techniques similar to previous campaigns associated with Beijing.

Microsoft said Linen Typhoon had “focused on stealing intellectual property, primarily targeting organizations related to government, defence, strategic planning, and human rights” for 13 years.

It added that Violet Typhoon had been “dedicated to espionage”, primarily targeting former government and military staff, non-governmental organizations, think tanks, higher education, the media, the financial sector and the health sector in the US, Europe, and East Asia.

Meanwhile, Storm-2603 was “assessed with medium confidence to be a China-based threat actor”.

 

 

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.

NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

According to the commission, the website has been circulating online to offer services for Nigerians seeking National Identification Number (NIN) services.

NIMC, in a post on its official X account on Wednesday, said, “NINcard.com is not in anyway affiliated to NIMC. Stay vigilant!”

The warning was accompanied by screenshots of fake payment receipts and OTP request pages from the website, both of which were boldly stamped “FAKE” by NIMC to alert the public.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

E-Business

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

Published

on

Kindly share this post

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), in partnership with the Advocacy for Policy and Innovation (API), has convened a one-day workshop in Abuja to advance dialogue on the draft Online Harm Protection (OHP) Bill to confront harmful online content.

NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

The bill, a rights-based, locally rooted, and multi-stakeholder initiative, is aimed at addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The event, which held yesterday, brought together government officials, civil society, academics, digital platforms, and legal experts to shape a policy framework designed to combat online ills such as cyberbullying, disinformation, hate speech, digital exploitation, and gender-based violence, while safeguarding democratic freedoms and digital inclusion.

In his keynote remarks, Kashifu Inuwa, director general, NITDA urged a paradigm shift in the way society engages with digital technologies.

“For almost two decades, we have viewed digital technology through a consumer lens. But these technologies are not just products and services. They are transforming how we live, work, and interact. They shape our politics, our society, and our democracy,” he said.

Warning against unaccountable digital power in the hands of private corporations, the DG likened the digital journey to the tale of Alice in Wonderland, where initial fascination with innovation has given way to deeper concerns about privacy, autonomy, and manipulation by big tech platforms.

“We thought we were using Google, but now we realise Google is using us. Social media, once a tool of expression, has become a tool of surveillance and influence,” Inuwa noted.

He, therefore, emphasised the urgency of developing a democratic and accountable framework.  He explained that following the 2021 Twitter ban, NITDA facilitated dialogue between the government and platform operators, leading to a Code of Practice that stressed Nigeria’s sovereignty and legal standards.

According to him, the same process birthed the multi-stakeholder steering committee and the OHP White Paper in December 2024, laying the foundation for the current legislative push.

Earlier in her opening remarks,  Victoria Manya, co-founder, API, observed the moral and civic necessity of the bill.

Her words: “The internet did not break society, it merely revealed its unfiltered version. Every day, Nigerians are exposed to harassment, disinformation, exploitation, and even algorithmic violence. The OHP Bill is not a war on the Internet. It is a peace offering to its users, a social contract for a digital future that is safe, inclusive, and democratic.

“We cannot answer the question of algorithmic power with unchecked state control. We must answer it with shared, rights-based governance. This bill must not be written for the people, but with them.”


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending