National Identity Management Commission of Nigeria (NIMC) has said that it is looking at ways of streamlining and expanding the rollout of digital ID in Nigeria and one of the options on the table is adding iris biometrics to its digital ID enrollment.

Iris biometrics is a biometric authentication technology that uses the unique patterns of the iris to identify a person

The hint was dropped recently by Abisoye Coker-Odusote, director general and chief executive officer, NIMC, during a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Journalism Fellowship training which took place in Abuja.

Speaking through a representative, the NIMC boss said this idea is among a litany of innovations which they are planning to introduce to the digital ID system in order to make it more inclusive, The Sun reports.

At the moment, biometric enrollment for the National Identification Number (NIN) in Nigeria involves face and fingerprints.

Adding the iris modality, according to the official, will make it possible for citizens with disabilities to be equally issued the important credential which is necessary to access a wide range of services in the country.

“We are exploring the use of iris recognition technology to cater to the specific needs of individuals with disabilities,” the representative was quoted as saying. Uganda is one other African country which has announced the addition of iris biometrics to its new generation biometric national ID card.

The NIMC CEO said despite the challenges the ID authority faces, its commitment to build an inclusive ID system and expand coverage remain unwavering.

She emphasized the important of the NIN as an essential tool in getting access to several services.

In order to streamline access to services, Odusote said they have been working tirelessly with their partners to enhance interoperability among government agencies to facilitate identity verification.

This, she says, will save Nigerians the stress of having to register many times with government agencies to obtain services.

The innovations envisaged by the NIMC are part of a broader reforms plan which aims to give the ID authority a new legislative framework for more efficient identity management.

It also comes at a time when the World Bank has extended its support for the country’s digital ID program by another two years, with a target to issue 180 million digital IDs by the close of the extension.

The Nigeria ID4D has pledged in the past to create the enabling environment to the issuance of NINs to persons living with disabilities.

A recent investigative report however suggests that many aged and physically challenged citizens in Nigeria go through tough times seeking the NIN.

Some have reportedly had their SIM cards blocked while others have been locked out of their bank accounts for their inability to register for a digital ID.

According to the recent Kaspersky IT Security Economics report, the majority of companies surveyed globally find the loss of productivity, securing complex tech environments, and enabling data protection to be the most concerning business issues, driven by growing IT security needs and requirements.

The Kaspersky IT Security Economics report is released every year to analyse the changes in budgets, breaches and business challenges affecting IT Security decision makers.

This report is compiled from interviews with IT and IT security professionals from organisations of different sizes and industries. The survey was carried out in 27 countries across Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, North America, the Middle East, Turkiye and the Africa (META) region, including in Egypt, KSA, Pakistan, South Africa, Turkiye, UAE.

According to the report, downtime and lost productivity are the most concerning business problems caused by ineffective IT security, an opinion expressed by 38% of companies globally and 34% in the META region. They encounter this problem mainly because of the long-time taken to detect and remediate threats.

Data protection is another important concern that was expressed by 33% of companies globally and 34% in the META region.

Respondents were worried about this because they regularly encountered the physical loss of devices by employees and experienced leakage of data from corporate systems caused by both external and internal reasons.

Securing complex technology environments and ensuring data connectivity were also on the list of key concerns, according to 33% of respondents globally and 26% in the META region.

Among the main IT issues that cause this challenge, respondents pointed to the rising number of incidents involving non-computing connected devices and incorrect operations of cybersecurity solutions that leave systems exposed.

Additionally, difficulties in managing security across different computing platforms play a crucial role in their inability to build a reliable all-encompassing cybersecurity system.

“It is crucial for organisations to safeguard every aspect of their operations from potential breaches. Attackers no longer solely rely on zero-day exploits, as a simple click on a malicious link or a vulnerability in a contractor’s infrastructure can lead to devastating consequences.

“This underscores the idea that information security should be based on a comprehensive and systematic approach, rather than being limited to the implementation of individual point-specific measures,” comments Alexey Vovk, Information Security Director at Kaspersky.

As part of its annual Kaspersky Security Bulletin, the company’s experts have analysed significant supply chain attacks and IT outages from the past year and explored potential future risk scenarios, providing insights aimed at helping businesses of all sizes enhance cybersecurity, build resilience, and prepare for possible emerging threats in 2025.

In 2024, supply chain attacks and IT outages emerged as dominant cybersecurity concerns, demonstrating that virtually no infrastructure is immune to risk.

A faulty CrowdStrike update affected millions of systems, and sophisticated incidents, such as the XZ backdoor and the Polyfill.io supply chain attack exposed the risks inherent in widely used tools.

These and other high-profile cases highlight the need for rigorous security measures, robust patch and update management, and proactive defenses to safeguard global supply chains and infrastructure.

In its “Story of the Year”, the Kaspersky Security Bulletin reflects on 2024’s past incidents, while contemplating hypothetical future scenarios, and considering their potential consequences, as follows:

What if a major AI provider faced an outage or a data breach? Businesses are increasingly relying on various models such as those from OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and others.

However, despite the excellent user experience these integrations offer, they introduce significant cyber risks. Reliance on a single or limited number of AI service providers creates concentrated points of failure.

If a major AI company experiences a critical disruption, it could significantly impact dozens or even thousands of services that depend on them.

Furthermore, an incident at any major AI provider could result in one of the most severe data leaks, as these systems may store vast amounts of sensitive information.

What if on-device AI tools were exploited? As AI becomes more integrated into everyday devices, the risk of it becoming an attack vector grows significantly.

For instance, the Operation Triangulation campaign, uncovered by Kaspersky in 2023, demonstrated how attackers could compromise device integrity by exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities in the system software and hardware to deploy advanced spyware.

Similar potential software or hardware-assisted vulnerabilities in the neural processing units powering AI – both broadly and in specific platforms like Apple Intelligence – could, if discovered, extend or present an even greater threat. Exploiting such weaknesses could harness AI capabilities to significantly amplify the scope and impact of such attacks.

Kaspersky’s research into Operation Triangulation also revealed the first of its kind case reported by the company: the misuse of on-device machine learning for data extraction, highlighting that the features designed to enhance user experience are already being weaponised by sophisticated threat actors.

What if threat actors disrupted satellite connectivity? While the space industry in general has been encountering various cyberattacks for a while, the new target for threat actors may be satellite Internet providers as important elements of the global connectivity chain.

Satellite Internet can provide temporary communication links when other systems are down; airlines, ships, and other platforms may rely on it to provide onboard connectivity; it may also be used to enable secure communication services.

This presents cyber risks: a targeted cyberattack or a faulty update from a leading or dominant satellite provider could cause Internet outages and potential communication breakdowns, impacting individuals and organisations.

What if major physical threats to the Internet occurred? Continuing the topic of connectivity, the Internet is also vulnerable to physical threats. 95% of global data is transmitted through subsea cables, and there are nearly 1,500 Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) – physical locations, sometimes within data centers, where different networks exchange traffic.

A disruption to just a few critical components of this chain – such as key cables or IXPs – could overload the remaining infrastructure, potentially causing widespread outages and significantly impacting global connectivity.

What if severe vulnerabilities in Windows and Linux kernel were exploited? These operating systems power many of the world’s critical assets, including servers, manufacturing equipment, logistics systems, IoT devices, and others.

A remotely exploitable kernel vulnerability in these systems could expose countless devices and networks worldwide to potential attacks, creating a high-risk situation in which global supply chains could face significant disruption.

“Supply chain risks may seem overwhelming, but awareness is the first step toward prevention,” said Igor Kuznetsov, Director of Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky.

“By testing updates rigorously, leveraging AI-driven anomaly detection, and diversifying providers to reduce single points of failure, we can reduce weak elements and build resilience. A culture of responsibility among personnel is equally vital, as human vigilance remains the cornerstone of security. Together, these measures can safeguard supply chains and ensure a more secure future”.