The Federal Government has called for the development of inclusive and human-centred artificial intelligence policies that protect workers’ rights and prevent job losses while harnessing the technology’s potential to drive economic growth and productivity.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Muhammad Dingyadi, made the call during the 114th Session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, while responding to the report of the Chairperson of the Governing Body and the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation, titled “A Moment of Choice: Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for Decent Work,” on Thursday.

Dingyadi said the rapid advancement of AI is transforming labour markets, workplace practices and employment relationships globally, creating both opportunities and challenges for governments, employers and workers.

He noted that while AI can stimulate innovation, improve productivity and expand economic opportunities, it also poses significant risks, including job displacement, widening inequalities and the erosion of the human role in some sectors of the economy.

“The world is moving forward at a rapid pace, underpinned by advances in AI, and we as an organisation must match that pace. While welcoming the positive transformations AI offers, we are also pondering the uncertainties it connotes.

“These shifts, despite their benefits, also cast a dark cloud of uncertainty. Where AI creates new jobs, there may be job losses. Where digital and AI infrastructures are created, there may be a loss of the traditional role and value of the human factor in the work process. We therefore need a balanced approach that ensures that, while harnessing the benefits of AI, the attendant risks do not rob our societies of the gains of decent work,” he said.

The minister commended the ILO leadership for its commitment to advancing the organisation’s mandate despite mounting global economic and social challenges.

Highlighting Nigeria’s efforts to position itself within the rapidly evolving digital economy, Dingyadi said the Federal Government had established the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to spearhead policies aimed at accelerating technological development and strengthening the country’s competitiveness.

According to him, Nigeria has already begun integrating digital technologies and AI into governance systems through the automation of civil service processes and public service delivery.

“I’m also pleased to inform you that Nigeria is steadily harnessing the gains of this initiative in our Public Service. There is the service-wide automation of civil service processes and communication with AI playing a significant role. Additionally, platform work is gaining ground,” he said.

The minister also welcomed ongoing discussions within the ILO on regulating work in the platform economy, stressing the need for labour standards that protect workers engaged in emerging forms of employment created by digital technologies.

Beyond AI, Dingyadi reiterated Nigeria’s longstanding call for reforms within the ILO, urging member states to accelerate the ratification of the 1986 Amendment to the organisation’s Constitution and review the criteria used to determine countries of Chief Industrial Importance.

He argued that such reforms would promote greater inclusivity, fairness and regional representation within the ILO’s governance structures.

The minister further urged countries to align the ILO Centenary Declaration and the Global Coalition for Social Justice with national development priorities to ensure that technological innovation contributes to social progress and decent work.

Nigeria’s intervention comes amid growing global debate over the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs and the future of work.

According to international labour and development agencies, AI is expected to automate some routine tasks while simultaneously creating new employment opportunities in technology, data science, digital services and other emerging sectors.

However, concerns persist that workers in administrative, clerical and repetitive occupations could face significant disruptions if governments fail to implement policies that support skills development, social protection and workforce transition.

The issue has become a central focus of discussions at the ongoing International Labour Conference, where governments, employers and workers’ representatives are examining how AI can be deployed in ways that promote productivity and economic growth without undermining labour rights, job security and social justice.

For Nigeria, the conversation is particularly significant as the country pursues an ambitious digital transformation agenda aimed at expanding broadband access, growing the digital economy and creating millions of technology-driven jobs for its youthful population.

Experts have repeatedly stressed that achieving these goals will require investments in digital skills, education and worker protections to ensure that the benefits of AI are broadly shared across society.

According to a recent global report by Kaspersky Security Services, password guessing and valid account misuse rank among the most effective tactics used by cyber criminals in 2025.

This trend reflects a strategic shift, as attackers move away from triggering endpoint protection with noisy malware, in preference of leveraging legitimate access to evade detection.

The ‘Anatomy of a Cyber World’ is an in-depth global report based on data gathered from Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response (MDR), Incident Response (IR), Compromise Assessment and SOC Consulting in 2025. It covers the most common adversary techniques, tools and detection scenarios and highlights the peculiarities of detected incidents.

According to the report, a significant portion of the most frequently monitored attack techniques revolves around credentials and identity management. This analysis, which examines the conversion rates* of various Indicators of Attack (IoA), highlights the following prevalent malicious tactics:

Password guessing – 34.8%. This technique entails attackers systematically trying different passwords until successfully gaining access to an account. It tops the conversion list due to its occurrence in both actual attacks and authorised security assessments, making it a persistent threat in today’s cybersecurity landscape. Organisations who rely on weak or reused passwords continues to enable this age-old strategy.

Local account creation – 34.7%. Once inside a system, attackers frequently create new local accounts to maintain access even if their original foothold is discovered and removed. This technique is frequently observed during security exercises and can be detected — but only with the right telemetry in place, which is often lacking.

Valid account abuse – 34.5%. Instead of deploying malware, attackers log in using stolen or compromised credentials and simply blend in with normal user activity. This makes detection significantly harder, as the access itself appears legitimate. The high conversion rate underscores why compromised credentials remain one of the most dangerous attack vectors.

Account manipulation – 32%. Attackers modify existing accounts to consolidate access such as by activating disabled accounts, altering group memberships, or escalating privileges. This reinforces the broader pattern — rather than introducing new tools, adversaries deepen their control using what is already there.

Network service discovery – 31.2%. Before moving deeper into a network, attackers typically scan for open services and systems they can reach. This reconnaissance step is a strong predictor of what follows: lateral movement and further exploitation. Detecting it early provides security teams a critical window to intervene.

The report ranks attacker techniques by how frequently observed activity ultimately resulted in confirmed malicious incidents. According to Kaspersky experts, while MITRE ATT&CK® catalogs a vast number of adversary techniques, effective detection requires prioritising behaviours with the highest probability of malicious intent while avoiding excessive false positives.

“Threat actors do not always need sophisticated malware to achieve their objectives. In many cases, legitimate administrative tools and compromised accounts remain the fastest and most effective way to move inside an organisation while avoiding detection.

The continued popularity of these techniques shows that organisations need deep visibility into attacker behaviour and the ability to correlate suspicious activity across different stages of an attack.

To address these challenges, companies can enhance their security with our solutions: Kaspersky Managed Detection and Response and Incident Response which cover the entire incident management cycle – from threat detection to continuous protection and remediation,” comments Sergey Soldatov, Head of Security Operations Center at Kaspersky.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has started looking into reports of unauthorized access to its Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) database, according to Mohammed Kudu Haruna, national commissioner and chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC),

Haruna, in a statement on Tuesday said that was aware of the allegations spreading on social media and in some news outlets.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission is aware of rumors currently circulating on social media and in certain media about unauthorized access to the Commission’s Continuous Voter Registration  (CVR) database.

These claims include the publication of information about a candidate from recent political party primaries in the Federal Capital Territory.

“The Commission takes this allegation very seriously and has quickly begun a thorough investigation to find out what really happened,” the statement noted.

INEC clarified that during the ongoing nationwide CVR process, registered officers were given limited access to specific parts of the registration system.

This access helps them manage voter registrations, transfer requests, and updates to voter records.

The commission stated that access to the information is only allowed for official duties and is taken away once the task ends.

Haruna revealed that initial findings from the commission’s audit trail helped pinpoint the user account used to access the information.

“The audit trail from our early investigation has allowed us to find out which user account was involved. As a result, we’ve questioned relevant staff, and all departments related to this matter are fully cooperating with the investigation,” it mentioned.

The commission also said it is looking into all technical, administrative, and operational details of the situation to figure out who is responsible and whether any internal access-control rules were broken.

However, INEC reported that its early findings indicated there was no outside breach of its systems.

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“Our initial findings from the audit trail suggest that there was no external breach of the CVR database, no hacking incident, and no unauthorized outside access to our ICT systems.”

“Instead, the information in question was accessed using valid user credentials assigned to personnel involved in the ongoing CVR exercise but was released without proper authorization,” added the statement.

The commission emphasized that this incident involved retrieving a specific voter record and did not indicate any risk to the overall voter registration system or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters.

“The investigation is focused on the retrieval of a specific voter record and does not suggest any risk to the overall voter registration system or the personal data of over 90 million registered voters, according to the statement.

INEC emphasized that it is dedicated to safeguarding voter information and ensuring the integrity of its electoral systems.

“The Commission clearly states that it takes the security, privacy, and integrity of voter data very seriously. It remains committed to transparency, institutional integrity, and protecting voters’ personal details,” the statement noted.

The commission also announced that the Department of State Services has started its own investigation into this issue.

“Additionally, the Department of State Services has independently begun an investigation. The Commission will fully cooperate with all relevant security agencies and will not hesitate to take legal action against anyone found responsible,” the statement continued.

INEC encouraged the public and media to refrain from making assumptions while investigations are ongoing, promising that it will share its findings and any actions taken in due time.