Telecom
Cyber Security Myths You Must Forget, To Avoid Being Hacked
Cyber security threats are real. The cyber traitors penetrate every facet of the economy.
For instance, the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System, NIBSS), disclosed that the banking industry lost the sum of N12.30 billion to various frauds between 2014 and 2017, with male accounting for 73 percent of the total fraud committed.
Mr Adebisi Shonubi, Managing Director of NIBBS, made the disclosure at the third Annual Banking Security Summit organized by MAXUT Consulting in partnership with OneSpan, a global data security company in Lagos, recently.
Specifically, he noted that 2014 fraud volume stood at 1,461, 10,743 (2015), 19,531 in 2016 and 25,043 in 2017.
Speaking on “Industry fraud overview with focus on mobile & payments related frauds,” Shonubi said the industry lost N6.22 billion in 2014 on attempted fraud value of N7.76 billion.
Thus, because of these trends companies are even falling prey to two myths that often cloud the judgement of business owners when it comes to Cyber-attacks.
Whilst they mostly think they are safe, the myths actually increase their chances of falling in the hands of cyber-criminals and hackers.
The first Cyber Security Myth is that many business owners still believe that all cyber attacks are targeted.
This means that unless they’re specifically selected as the prey of a hacking attack, they won’t fall victim.
It is not uncommon to see businesses that believe they will not be in the sights of cybercriminals, so aren’t at risk from suffering the negative effects of a cyber-attack.
You may even be one of such people with this belief, but if you ask the Western business leaders that were hit by NotPetya in 2017, they would definitely have stories to tell you that would change your mindset about cyber-attacks.
To quickly recap what NotPetya was about – it was a malware campaign launched against Ukraine by Russia, which quickly spread around the world, knocking businesses offline and doing vast amounts of damage to people who weren’t primary targets of the attack in the first place.
The original target of the attack was Ukrainian infrastructure, but it damaged — amongst other things — British advertising and pharmaceutical companies, as well as the shipping giant, Maersk!
The impact of NotPetya forced Maersk to reinstall 4,000 servers and over 45,000 PCs, with losses caused by serious business interruption estimated to amount to over $300m, despite the shipping firm never being the intended target of the attack.
Another example of how unsuspecting organizations can find themselves the victims of a major cyber attack is the incidence of WannaCry Ransomware.
The UK’s National Health Service found itself an unwitting victim of the campaign spread via an aggressive worm-like virus launched by North Korea in an effort to extort ransoms.
Despite the fact that you would wonder about the absurdity of attacking a body like NHS, yet they weren’t spared. This means that when it comes to cyber attacks, there is really no one that can be spared!
The second Cyber Security Myth is that some businesses don’t engage with cybersecurity because they believe it to be too complicated.
This is quite an irony as businesses usually have to deal with complicated issues every day, and it begs the question of why understanding cyber-security should be too complicated to figure out. Actually, it isn’t even complicated!
If your company can deal with complex data, millions of financial transactions, transportation of goods from one end to another, provision of services to diverse customers, or anything at all, cybersecurity is not something you should not be able to comprehend and deploy.
Even simple activities like ensuring systems and software are up to date can go a long way to protecting organizations from cyberattacks.
This approach could have helped organizations around the world avoid becoming victims of Cloud Hopper, a data-stealing espionage campaign, which Western authorities have attributed to China’s state-backed hacking group APT10.
Much of the campaign was based around distributing phishing emails containing malicious Word documents, which — when opened — ran macros that retrieve malware.
If the targeted organizations had applied relevant patches, the vulnerabilities exploited by the attackers wouldn’t have had any effect. And you can only blame this on poor cybersecurity or understanding of it because while the APT in APT10 stands for ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’, the attack wasn’t that advanced.
Dispelling these two cybersecurity myths from your mind can go a long way from keeping you safe against attacks that may put your business data and infrastructure at risk of loss or ransom.
To know about more myths that need to be forgotten, or get exposed to different ways to mitigate cybersecurity threats, make it a date to the Sidmach-Sophos Lunch and Learn event happening this February.
At the event, you will also learn about cost effective security dynamics, get introduced to tools that mitigate latest threats, have complete visibility and control of your IT Infrastructure.
To know how to dispel these myths REGISTER for Sophos/Sidmach Lunch & Learn. Email: corporate@sidmach.com
Attendance is strictly by registration!
Mafab Communications, operating under the brand Mcom, has officially activated its mobile service infrastructure and commenced offering telecommunications services — including voice, data, and SMS — with new number range, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.
Dr. Musbahu Bashir, founder Mafab, owners of Mcom
Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has also confirmed the entry of Mcom which listed 0724 as officially assigned to Mafab.
An insider at Mafab told this reporter that “ We are Nigeria’s first 5G standalone network provider, revolutionizing the telecommunications landscape. We are driven by a vision to foster a world where possibilities know no bounds with the power of technology”
Recall that the original 5G licence was awarded to Mafab in 2021, with an expectation that rollout would have fully commence by August 2022.
MTN Nigeria, the other winner of the license adhered to this timeline and deployed its 5G across major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
Mafab on the other hand, requested and was granted an extension of time, which it have finally taken advantage of by the recent launch.
Mafab Communications is owned by Dr. Musbahu Bashir, who is also the founder and chairman of the company.
He is the individual behind the Mcom 5G brand and has been instrumental in launching the company’s 5G services.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has vowed to intensify its collaboration with security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals vandalising the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Auwal Abdullahi, head of Quality of Service at the NCC, said this during a media engagement held in Abuja.
The move comes on the heels of the recent signing of the “Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024” by President Bola Tinubu.
The Order is aimed at protecting essential digital and communication systems from cyberattacks, vandalism, and related disruptions.
Speaking on the development, Abdullahi said: “The Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Act has provisions for prosecution, and the operationalisation of CNII falls under the purview of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Anyone found liable for damaging or disrupting CNII will be prosecuted going forward. We are working with relevant agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to tackle these problems and prosecute offenders.”
He recounted that some telecom operators recorded significant financial losses two years ago, largely due to exchange rate pressures and infrastructure vandalism.
“About two years ago, we noticed a situation where some of our key telecom operators were recording massive losses. Despite increasing revenues, they were struggling with heavy forex-related obligations that ate into their revenues. This led to poor quality of service,” he said.
According to him, the recent tariff adjustments have placed the industry back on a path to profitability and renewed investment.
“As a result, they are able to reinvest in their networks, which will lead to better quality of service and experience. We expect investments in the industry to increase significantly this year, more than what was seen in the last two years. The Nigerian telecoms industry has great promise, evident in its revenue growth and service delivery, despite the recent challenges,” he added
Also speaking at the event, Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and CEO of the NCC, reassured stakeholders that the Commission remains committed to driving improvements in network quality across the country.
Represented by Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, acting head of Public Affairs, Maida challenged journalists to act on the knowledge shared at the forum.
“This is not for you alone. You now have this information, do not just sit on it. For instance, you were given figures on fiber cuts and thefts affecting NCC. Who is responsible for those infrastructures? The NSCDC. Ask them: ‘Of all these incidents, what are you doing about them? How many people have been prosecuted?’ Every state has legal departments. Go and ask them: ‘What are you doing to protect critical infrastructure?’ he queried.
Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ALTON) has revealed that 13 commercial banks have fully settled their outstanding Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service debts to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The remaining three banks are nearing completion of their payments, having cleared over 95% of their respective debts, according to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON.
This resolution paves the way for a new billing system for USSD banking transactions.
Going forward, charges for these services will be debited directly from customers’ airtime accounts.
The update on debt settlements and the upcoming billing model were discussed , during the ‘ASK the Exec’ online meeting anchored by MTN.
Participants included Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief enterprise business officer at MTN and Adebayo.
According to the ALTON Chairman, there has been substantial progress in resolving the long-standing debt issue.
“As of January, the outstanding debt from banks to MNOs for USSD services was N180 billion. Of the 17 banks with pre-API outstanding payments (excluding Heritage Bank, which is insolvent), 13 have fully settled their debts, and the remaining three are in the final stages of installment payments, with over 95% of the debt cleared”, he explained to journalists present at the call.
The clearance of historical debt is crucial as the industry moves to a new operational model.
“Banks with outstanding debts will not be excluded from the new system; they can either migrate to end-user billing once their debts are cleared or choose to remain on the old corporate billing model, provided they settle their outstanding obligations”, Adebayo pointed out.
Since 2021, collaborative efforts between the telecommunications and banking industries, supported by their regulators, have aimed to standardize charges for USSD banking transactions, resulting in a unified fee of N6.98 per transaction.
Saint-Nwafor, explained the upcoming change: “The most significant change is the transition to end-user billing, where customers will now be billed for USSD transactions directly from their airtime accounts instead of their bank accounts. This means deductions will no longer occur from bank balances but from airtime balances held with MNOs.”
Previously, banks directly debited customers’ bank accounts, a system that presented challenges regarding transparency and control.
To address this, an Application Programming Interface (API) was developed, granting banks full control over their USSD channels. For instance, a bank like GTBank with the USSD code *737# can now ensure a customer’s number is accepted by the bank before a transaction proceeds, after which the bank applies the N6.98 charge.
MNOs like MTN simply facilitate the connection, earning their N6.98 fee for providing the channel.
To ensure a smooth transition and consistent experience, a standardized process for end-user billing has been implemented across all operators and banks: Consent Message: Customers dialing a bank’s USSD code will receive a clear consent message informing them of the N6.98 deduction from their airtime and requesting acceptance.
Aggregator Communication: Upon acceptance, the MNO will contact a USSD aggregator to confirm the bank’s availability, preventing billing for unfulfilled services. Transaction and Billing: Once the bank confirms readiness, the MNO connects the customer and bills the airtime account.
All MNOs have also unified their messaging to customers, providing consistent communication on service levels and transaction outcomes, clarifying if a transaction failed due to issues on the bank’s end or the telco’s side.
Crucially, telco service purchases (airtime and data) from banks are zero-rated when customers use direct strings (e.g., dialing *737*10000# for N10,000 airtime instead of the generic *737#).
This informs both the MNO and the bank of the specific intent, making these transactions free.
Customers are strongly encouraged to use these direct strings to avoid charges, and extensive communication campaigns are planned. Any instance of double deduction (from both airtime and bank accounts) should be reported to the customer’s bank.
Adebayo addressed several key questions, reassuring the public about the implications for consumers and businesses.
He noted that for consumers, the shift to end-user billing has a zero net effect on cost, as they were already paying the N6.98 fee, albeit from their bank accounts.
Transparency and accountability are enhanced through standardized consent messages, inter-industry agreements, and MNOs’ commitment to provide monthly performance statistics to regulators.
“If a transaction fails due to MNO network issues, the customer will not be billed, or any deduction will be reversed. However, if the failure originates from the bank’s end (e.g., insufficient bank balance, bank system downtime), the customer will still be billed, with the reason for failure communicated”, ALTON Chairman explained.
The concern about USSD usage limiting access for those in unbanked areas or without airtime was also addressed.
“The N6.98 charge is considerably lower than alternative transport costs to physical banking points. Furthermore, customers can purchase airtime from their bank accounts at zero cost using direct strings, even if they have no airtime, as long as they have funds in their bank account. USSD is seen as a convenience channel, with all stakeholders contributing to the cost of providing financial services”, Adebayo stated.
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