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How Hackers Manipulated, Stole N622m from Interswitch within Minutes- Police

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Justice Yellim Bogoro of the Federal High Court in Lagos has heard how Daniel Ikeoha and Sylvester Ebeta, two alleged hackers, manipulated Interswitch Nigeria Limited’s Payment Gateway  switch and siphoned N622 million within minutes.

How Hackers Manipulated, Stole N622m from Interswitch within Minutes- Police

Police intelligence operatives from Special Fraud Unit, Ikoyi, Lagos State, who later uncovered the two alleged, arraigned before Justice Bogoro for causing multiple fraudulent transfers and withdrawals of N622 million from various bank accounts of other customers to their own accounts.

Justice Bogoro, the presiding judge, ordered both Daniel and Sylvester remanded in the Ikoyi facility of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS), after they pleaded not guilty to the charges of alleged conspiracy, hacking into the Interswitch’s server and unlawful conversion/taking possession of proceeds of an unlawful acts.

The offences which contravened Sections 27(1)(b) and 14(1)of the Cyber Crimes (Prohibition, Prevention Etc.) Act, 2015 as Amended in 2024, read along with Section 14(1) of the same Act.

The offence also contravened Section 18(2)(b)(d) and punishable under Section 18(3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Justine Enang, the prosecutor and a chief superintendent of police at the Legal Department of PSFU, Ikoyi, Lagos, alleged that the defendants and others at large have between January 2022 and October 12, 2023, conspired among themselves to commit illegal acts.

Enang told the Court that the two defendants and others at large, unlawfully suppressed the Interswitch Payment Gateway Merchants to interchange the system switch and caused multiple fraudulent transfers and withdrawals of N622 million, from various bank accounts of other customers to their own accounts.

The prosecutor told the court that the defendants wired the N622 million to their under-listed banks and accounts: Kuda Microfinance Bank, account no. 2012900334; UBA Plc, account no. 2259918436; Zenith Bank Plc, account no, 225135546; Eco Bank Nigeria Limited, account no. 4360057510 and 4360057503; GTB Plc account nos. 0025473624, 0560512839; FCMB, account nos. 7358218027, 7358218010; Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, account no. 5397559320; GTB Plc, account no. 0167915358; Stalonvee Concept, Stalonvee Concept, account no. 6397559320, 5397602542 and Zenith Bank Plc, account no. 240753383.

  1. S. Hart, their lawyer, informed the court that she had two applications before the Court for the Court to determine.

She told the court that the first application is challenging the court’s jurisdiction in entertaining the charges against her client, because her clients have been charged before a magistrate court. Hence, the charges against them before the Court was an abuse of court process.

She also told the Court that the second application is the bail application of her clients.

In response, the prosecutor told the Court that the charge before the Magistrate Court has been withdrawn.

On the application for bail, the prosecutor told the court that he has responded to same, by filing a counter-affidavit.

Based on the submissions of the parties, Justice Bogoro ordered parties to move the bail application. And upon taking arguments on the bail application, Justice Bogoro adjourned ruling till 14th November, 2024, while ordering that the two defendants be remanded in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Services (NCoS) pending when the bail application will be determined.

 

 


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Firm Warns Against AI Password Generation @ World Password Day

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Most online services and apps require the user to create a password. Chances are many of those passwords are not being used daily and due to this overabundance, there’s a high probability that many of the passwords are being reused.

Poor password management is compounded by a reliance on common combinations of names, dictionary words and numerals. Not only are these passwords relatively easy to decipher, but if a cybercriminal gains access to a password on one site, that could result in access to a plethora of other sites.

People are urged to create unique, random passwords to counter the vulnerability posed by using the same password multiple times. However, password creation and management can be an arduous task.

To tackle the burden of password creation and management, people might be tempted to use large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Llama or DeepSeek to generate their passwords.

The appeal is clear. Rather than struggling to come up with a strong password, users can simply ask AI, “Generate a secure password” and get an instant result.

AI produces strings that look random, which helps avoid the human tendency to create predictable, dictionary-based passwords. But appearances can be deceptive, AI-generated passwords may not be as secure as they appear.

Alexey Antonov, Data Science Team Lead at Kaspersky, tested this by generating 1,000 passwords using some of the more prominent and trusted LLMs including ChatGPT (from OpenAI), Llama (model from Meta group), DeepSeek (newcomer from China).

“All of the models are aware that a good password consists of at least 12 characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. They report this when generating passwords,” says Antonov.

“In practice, though, the algorithms often neglected to insert a special character or digits into the password: 26% of passwords for ChatGPT, 32% for Llama and 29% for DeepSeek. While DeepSeek and Llama sometimes generated passwords shorter than 12 characters.”

In 2024, Alexey Antonov developed a machine learning algorithm to test password strength and found that almost 60% of passwords can be cracked in under an hour using modern GPUs or cloud-based cracking tools.

When applied to AI-generated passwords, the results were alarming, they were far less secure than they appeared: 88% of DeepSeek and 87% of Llama generated passwords were not strong enough to withstand attack from sophisticated cyber criminals. While ChatGPT did a little better with 33% of passwords not strong enough to pass the Kaspersky test.

“The problem is LLMs don’t create true randomness. Instead, they mimic patterns from existing data, making their outputs predictable to attackers who understand how these models work,” notes Antonov.

 


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NBS Unveils Crowd-Sourcing Initiative for Accurate Statistical Data

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National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has introduced a crowd-sourcing initiative aimed at providing more accurate statistical information and data to policymakers and the general public.

NBS Unveils Crowd-Sourcing Initiative for Accurate Statistical Data

According to a statement issued by Folorunso Alesanmi, head of Public Relations, the initiative, which commenced several months ago, involves compiling daily price data from a wide range of sources.

These include open markets, supermarkets, neighbourhood shops, bulk and discount stores, street outlets, and large retail shops.

Data collection has been conducted across all 36 States, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and every senatorial district.

However, the Bureau clarified that price data gathered through crowd-sourcing differs from the data used in computing the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

While CPI data is collected at specific, pre-determined outlets during the second and third weeks of each month, crowd-sourced price data is gathered randomly from different respondents daily.

By leveraging the power of crowd-sourcing, the Bureau has been able to gather a vast amount of data that offers a more nuanced picture of price trends in the economy.

“We are thrilled to release our first price data compiled through crowd-sourcing. This initiative represents a major step forward in our efforts to harness the power of technology and innovation to improve the quality and timeliness of our statistical data,” said Prince Semiu Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician-General of the Federation and NBS CEO.

The newly released data offers insights into the prices of essential food items commonly consumed by Nigerians, such as local rice, white beans, white maize, garri, yam, and more. It provides a daily snapshot of food costs.

The NBS plans to update this data on a daily basis, offering entrepreneurs, policymakers, and researchers a valuable tool for monitoring price fluctuations and making informed decisions.

The data is accessible to the public through a dedicated dashboard, where users can view, analyze, and download it in real-time—enhancing transparency and accessibility.

“To this end, the agency has implemented a range of quality control measures, including data validation and verification processes, to ensure that the data is reliable and trustworthy,” the statement added.

The release of this crowd-sourced price data underscores the NBS’s commitment to innovation and collaboration.

By working with citizens and embracing technology, the Bureau aims to provide more timely and accurate statistics to drive economic growth and development


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AFC Appoints Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of Board of Directors

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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent’s leading instrumental infrastructure solutions provider, has announced the appointment of Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of its Board of Directors. She succeeds Mr. Emeka Emuwa who has completed 12 years of meritorious service to the Corporation.

Mrs. Samuel-Ogbu brings a wealth of experience spread over three decades leading and transforming the banking sector in Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Until recently, she led Citi’s institutional businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, with oversight across Banking, Markets and Services.

During this period, she steered the franchise through significant macroeconomic and regulatory headwinds, strengthening its strategic momentum and resilience.

Her international career within Citibank included senior leadership roles across over 50 countries in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, during which time she worked in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and South Africa.

Mrs. Samuel-Ogbu has extensive boardroom experience including Citibank Nigeria where she was a Non-Executive Director for 6 years and Chair of the Risk Committee prior to becoming the Managing Director.

She also served on the board of CHAPS Clearing UK, the high value payment system now operated by the Bank of England and a UK-based charity, Opportunity International.

Her extensive experience and unwavering dedication to the advancement of Africa make her a valuable asset to AFC at a time when the Corporation is more committed than ever to accelerating Africa’s transformation through bold investments, innovative financing models and catalytic partnerships.

AFC recently delivered a record-breaking FY2024 financial performance, with total revenue increasing by 22.8% to US$1.1 billion, surpassing the US$1billion milestone for the first time.

This strong performance was driven by several transformational projects including acting as the Lead Project Developer for the Lobito Corridor, a transformative multi-country transport network connecting Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), financing of the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC — one of the world’s highest-grade, low-carbon underground copper mines and financing support for the commissioning of the Dangote Refinery, the largest in Africa.

Speaking on the appointment, Samaila Zubairu, President& CEO of AFC, said: ” We are delighted to welcome Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu as Chair of the Board.

Her wealth of experience, visionary leadership and deep understanding of Africa’s financial landscape will be invaluable as we navigate our next phase of growth- expanding our impact, mobilising urgently needed capital and delivering transformative projects that enable inclusive and sustainable prosperity across the continent.”

Mrs Ireti Samuel-Ogbu commented: “I am honoured to take on the role of Chair at AFC, an institution that serves as a trusted bridge between international capital and Africa’s dynamic growth opportunities.

I look forward to working closely with the board, management, and all stakeholders to advance the Corporation’s mission and strengthen its role as the leading provider of strategic, investment-driven solutions that unlock Africa’s full economic potential.”

 


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