E-Business
SiBAN Expels Violators of Code of Conduct, Pledges to Sanitize Blockchain Sector
Stakeholders in Nigeria’s Blockchain sector under the auspices of Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN) have begun the process of sanitizing the sector by weeding out bad eggs who brings the sector to disrepute.
The association in a statement released by its President, Obinna Iwuno, said the move became necessary in line with its mandate to promoting and safeguarding the integrity, transparency, and ethical standards of the blockchain industry in Nigeria.
According to the statement, “As part of our mandate, we strive to ensure that our members adhere to the highest ethical and professional standards, particularly in protecting consumers and investors within the blockchain and cryptocurrency space”.
The statement added that investigations and reviews carried out by the association found out that many individuals have flouted its Code of Conduct contrary to the associations mandate and policy.
The statement further read, “following thorough investigations and reviews, several individuals have been found to be in violation of SiBAN’s Code of Conduct, which every registered member is bound to uphold.
“Consequently, these individuals have been expelled from SiBAN, while others have been disassociated due to their unregistered status and unauthorised activities that contravene the association’s objectives and policies.
“SiBAN’s decision to expel and disassociate ourself from these individuals stems from various documented activities that have undermined the association’s credibility, caused confusion among stakeholders, and misled the public”.
The statement listed the reasons for expulsion and disassociation as follows:
Creation of a Parallel Organisation: Some of the individuals involved have attempted to create or promote a parallel organisation purporting to represent SiBAN’s interests. This has led to confusion within the blockchain community, as well as with regulators, investors, and the public.
Misrepresentation of SiBAN: It has come to our attention that certain expelled and disassociated individuals have falsely represented themselves as officials or representatives of SiBAN without proper authorisation.
Illegal Parading as SiBAN Officials: In addition to unauthorised misrepresentation, some individuals have taken further steps to parade themselves as elected officials of SiBAN, even though they hold no such positions within the association.
Violation of SiBAN’s Code of Conduct: SiBAN has a strict Code of Conduct that requires members to comply with ethical standards and regulatory frameworks, including those set by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other government bodies overseeing financial and technological industries.
As a result of these infractions, the association said that the following individuals have been expelled from SiBAN, or in cases where they were never registered members, we disassociate ourself from them:
- Emmanuel Babalola
- Chris Ani
- Senator Ihenyen
- Tony Emeka Nwabishop
- Paul Ezeafulukwe
- Toritseju Kaka
- Jude Ozinegbe
- Stanley Golomo
- Asemota Igiogbe
- Ifeoma Ben
- Iliasu Yakubu
- Others involved in similar activities
“It is important to clarify that while these individuals were either registered members of the association at one time or associated with SiBAN, their actions are not representative of the association’s values or goals”.
It further called on the general public and stakeholder in the industry to beware of this notice and refrain from dealing with these individuals on behalf of SiBAN.
“Given the situation, SiBAN strongly advises all members of the public, businesses, and regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and other relevant government agencies, to refrain from engaging in any dealings with the aforementioned individuals on behalf of SiBAN.
“These individuals are not authorised to represent SiBAN in any capacity, and any claims to the contrary are false and misleading.
“Any dealings with them under the impression that they are acting on behalf of SiBAN should be considered illegal and should be reported to the association”.
Commitment to Ethical Standards and Consumer Protection, SiBAN reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to ensuring that the blockchain industry in Nigeria operates transparently, ethically, and in full compliance with national regulations.
“As the leading association for blockchain stakeholders in Nigeria, we will continue to uphold the highest standards in all our activities, including the enforcement of our Code of Conduct and the promotion of safe and fair practices in the industry”.
Moving forward the association encourages stakeholders, both in Nigeria and internationally, to engage with SiBAN directly through our official communication channels for any inquiries, confirmations, or reports of misrepresentation.
SiBAN will remain vigilant in addressing any further attempts to mislead the public or operate outside of our established ethical framework.
E-Business
Kaspersky Identifies New Stealthy Ransomware
Kaspersky’s Global Emergency Response Team has identified a previously unseen ransomware strain in active use, deployed in an attack following the theft of employee credentials.
The ransomware, dubbed “Ymir”, employs advanced stealth and encryption methods. It also selectively targets files and attempts to evade detection.
Ymir ransomware introduces a unique combination of technical features and tactics that enhance its effectiveness.
Uncommon memory manipulation techniques for stealth. Threat actors leveraged an unconventional blend of memory management functions – malloc, memmove, and memcmp – to execute malicious code directly in the memory.
This approach deviates from the typical sequential execution flow seen in widespread ransomware types, enhancing its stealth capabilities. Furthermore, Ymir is flexible; by using the –path command, attackers can specify a directory where the ransomware should search for files.
If a file is on the whitelist, the ransomware will skip it and leave it unencrypted. This feature gives attackers more control over what is or isn’t encrypted.
Use of data-stealing malware. In the attack observed by Kaspersky experts, which took place on an organisation in Colombia, threat actors were observed using RustyStealer, a type of malware that steals information, to obtain corporate credentials from employees.
These were then utilised to gain access to the organisation’s systems and maintain control long enough to deploy ransomware. This type of attack is known as initial access brokerage, where attackers infiltrate systems and sustain access.
Typically, initial access brokers sell the access they gain on the dark web to other cybercriminals, but in this case, they appear to have continued the attack themselves by deploying ransomware.
“If the brokers are indeed the same actors who deployed the ransomware, this could signal a new trend, creating additional hijacking options without relying on traditional Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) groups,” explains Cristian Souza, Incident Response Specialist at Kaspersky Global Emergency Response Team.
Advanced encryption algorithm. The ransomware employs ChaCha20, a modern stream cipher known for its speed and security, even outperforming Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Although the threat actor behind this attack has not shared any stolen data publicly or made further demands, researchers are closely monitoring it for any new activity. “We haven’t observed any new ransomware groups emerging in the underground market yet.
Typically, attackers use shadow forums or portals to leak information as a way to pressure victims into paying the ransom, which is not the case with Ymir. Given this, the question of which group is behind the ransomware remains open, and we suspect this may be a new campaign,” elaborates Souza.
Looking for a name for the new threat, Kaspersky experts considered a Saturnian moon called Ymir. It is an “irregular” moon that travels in the opposite direction of the planet’s rotation – a trait that intriguingly resembles the unconventional blend of memory management functions used in the new ransomware.
E-Business
Nigeria, Ghana Africa’s Digital Hubs Hardest Hit by Cyber Attacks – Report
Nigeria, a major digital hub in Africa, has one of the highest volume of cyberattacks in West Africa, coming in at 2,721 for the first half of 2024.
Attacks on the computer-related services field were prevalent, as in Ghana, with 867 incidents, but local beauty salons were second on the list for Nigeria, enduring 206 incidents, followed by data processing hosting companies at 116.
“The growing complexity of distributed denial of service (DDoS) threats seen worldwide, including a notable increase in both attack frequency and sophistication, is clearly reflected in Nigeria. The country experienced more complex attacks than others within the region, with 23 different attacks vendors seen in one single attack, from TCP and CLDAP (Connection-less Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) attacks to Domain Name System (DNS) amplification and many more,” Bryan Hamman, regional director for Africa at NETSCOUT, adding that the country stood out third on the list.
Ghana, however, led the region in both the frequency and diversity of cyber threats for the first half of 2024, facing a high volume of DDoS attacks directed at industries including computer services and telecommunications.
In fact, according to NETSCOUT’s 1H2024 DDoS Threat Intelligence Report (TIR), the country was subjected to a total of 4,753 attacks over the six months, of which 2,759 were aimed at computer-related services businesses. Wireless telecommunications carriers (except satellite) received the second highest number of attacks, at 110, with full-service restaurants also noted as another vertical industry under fire. Furthermore, Ghana experienced by far the highest volume attack in West Africa, with the maximum bandwidth of its largest DDoS attack measuring 314.25 Mbps.
Known for an economic resilience that is driven by agriculture and mining, Guinea surprisingly took second spot in the NETSCOUT results for West Africa in terms of attack frequency, with 2,918 incidents listed. Wireless telecommunications carriers bore the brunt of these strikes, which were mostly TCP-type attacks.
Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia both faced similar attack frequencies, with 1,598 and 1,515 incidents noted respectively. The two countries also experienced similarities in the types of attacks vectors used – mostly TCP-related – as well as the sector that was hardest hit, which was wireless telecommunications for both.
Again, wireless telecommunications carriers were identified as the prime targets for threat actors in Benin (196 incidents), Senegal (107), Mali (32) and Cameroon (16).
“This is in line with NETSCOUT’s global Threat Intelligence Report figures, which measured attacks on the sector at 834,471 for the first part of 2024, a substantial 34 per cent increase on the figures seen for 2H 2023, which was calculated at 622,295. We believe this points to an objective by cybercriminals to disrupt critical communication infrastructure,” Hamman said.
E-Business
NITDA Invites Public Input on Guidelines for IT Projects and Regulatory Instruments
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is seeking public feedback on several draft documents related to Information Technology (IT) projects and regulations. This aligns with NITDA’s commitment to an open and collaborative rulemaking.
The legal Documents Open for Public Review are:
- Guidelines for Licensing IT Projects Clearance Compliance Assurance Firms 2024;
- Regulatory Guidelines for Electronic Invoicing in Nigeria;
- Guidelines for Software Development; and
- Guidelines for Software Testing.
NITDA is also proposing the amendment of the Guidelines for Clearance of IT Projects for Federal Public Institutions (FPIs). guidelines, initially issued in 2018.
The Guidelines for Licensing IT Projects Clearance Compliance Assurance Firms 2024 aims to ensure that IT projects within Federal Public Institutions (FPIs) are managed and implemented according to approved and established standards, regulations, and best practices.
The instrument will regulate and professionalise the clearance of IT projects, ensuring that FPIs IT projects and initiatives are effectively conceptualised, designed, evaluated, and compliant with relevant Federal Government extant rules and standards in line with the Federal Government’s digital infrastructure goals and the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Regulatory Guidelines for Electronic Invoicing is designed to promote transparency and deepen the use of technology for e-government automation as well as support the fiscal development of Nigeria through prudent administration of government revenue.
The guidelines will improve tax compliance, enhance efficiency and enhance standardisation and interoperability, thereby ensuring that Nigeria is ready for international digital commerce.
The Guidelines for Software Development establishes the minimum requirements for the development of software to be used by Nigerian government entities. It ensures that all software meets quality, security, and operational standards, promotes the growth of the local software testing market, and enhances the efficiency and effectiveness of government services.
The objectives of the guideline are to ensure that software is fit-for-purpose, meeting functional and non-functional requirements, and protect government institutions from operational risks through security, reliability, and performance standards.
To Participate:
These draft documents have undergone internal review and stakeholder consultations. NITDA now invites the public to contribute their feedback by reviewing the documents available for download at: https://nitda.gov.ng/draft-regulatory-instruments/
Public participation is crucial for NITDA to develop comprehensive and effective regulatory instruments.
By considering diverse perspectives, NITDA can ensure these guidelines best serve the needs of the IT industry and promote the development of a thriving digital economy in Nigeria.
Stakeholders are advised to send in their review to [email protected] on or before 26th November 2024.
- Broadcasting2 days ago
Echefu Launches LUFT TV, another Pay TV after Failed TSTV Project
- News3 days ago
NITDA, CISCO, Partner on Digital Literacy Initiative in NSUK
- Telecom3 days ago
Dr. Aminu Maida Advocates for Smarter Data Usage at Telecoms Consumer Parliament
- Telecom3 days ago
Gwandu Urges African Countries to Unite for 600MHz Spectrum Allocations
- Telecom3 days ago
MTN Foundation Shines Bright at 8th Tech Innovation Awards with Multiple Wins
- E-Business2 days ago
Nigeria, Ghana Africa’s Digital Hubs Hardest Hit by Cyber Attacks – Report
- News2 days ago
Senate to Increase EFCC Budget to Fuel Anti-Corruption Drive
- News2 days ago
TETFund Puts Education Tax Revenue @N1.5trn in 2024