E-Business
Signal Alliance Issues WannaCry Ransomware Advisory

Signal Alliance, a Microsoft enterprise partner in Nigeria has issued a WannaCry ransomware advisory to its clients and key users of Windows applications across the country.
This, the Company said, was because of the unprecedented cyber-attacks being experienced by several businesses and public sector organisations locally and globally.
Speaking on the advisory, Kelechi Agu, technology lead on Security in Signal Alliance says, “as soon as we became aware of the unprecedented spread of the Ransomware attack which was hitting tens of thousands of businesses, worldwide – including the entire British Health Care sector. We immediately gave our clients a breakdown on what we know about the malware responsible for the encryption attacks, and what they can do to stop it.”
Wannacry is the malware responsible for what is now being regarded as the biggest online extortion attack in history. Technically, it is classified as a worm – a type of malware that is self-replicating and self-propagating.
Malware is any kind software that is specifically made in a variety of forms to disrupt, damage or gain unauthorized access to a computer system or network. It includes ransomware, computer viruses, trojan horses, worms, trojan, spyware, adware, scareware, and other malicious programs. It can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software.
Ransomware malware adds a whole new dimension because, it typically depends on the action of the user who clicks an email to propagate it.
While WannaCry, being a worm, self-propagates by taking advantage of a vulnerability in Microsoft’s Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, an exploit known as EternalBlue.
With Microsoft being the most widely used business platform/Operating System, WannaCry spreads quickly once it has infected a single host in a network.
On March 14th, 2017 Microsoft released a patch update to address the EternalBlue vulnerability exploit. EternalBlue is a hacking weapon developed by the US National Security Agency to gain access and to take control of computers running Microsoft Windows. Companies that are slow to apply these updates have become victims of this widespread ransomware infections.
The first step to protecting your business is to make sure your servers, and endpoints are up to date. Older Operating System versions represent major vulnerability points.
According to Agu, the important countermeasures to take are; make sure your endpoint protection solution includes malware recognition and decryption features.]==If it doesn’t, it is time to invest in one; replicate and back up important business data and services, redundancy is key; and ensure all Operating System patch updates are applied quickly.
Initially, the ransomware was stopped by a kill-switch, discovered by an anti-malware researcher. This kill switch was an unregistered domain the virus was apparently trying to connect to, once inside the network. The researcher bought the domain, which effectively stopped the spread of the virus – temporarily.
Speaking further, Agu sayid: “Working with Microsoft, Signal Alliance is currently assisting organisations or individuals who are facing the WannaCry or Ransomware challenge or have set up a command centre to resolve the problems professionally.”
E-Business
Microsoft Servers Hacked by Chinese Groups

Chinese “threat actors” have hacked Microsoft’s SharePoint document software servers and targeted the data of the businesses using it, the firm has said.
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”.
E-Business
NIMC Warns Nigerians of Fake NIN Website

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued a public warning that it is not associated with NINcard.com.
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.
E-Business
NITDA, API Partner Against Harmful Online Content

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.
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.”
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