E-Business
Trend Micro’s Device Blocks Malicious Mails Targeted @ Nigerians
Trend Micro Incorporated, global cybersecurity leader, has said it blocked more than 10 million email threats, over 800, 000 malicious Uniform Resource Locator (URLs) and almost 4, 500 malicious mobile applications targeted at Nigerian businesses and consumers between January and June, this year.
In a statement, the firm said it happened when the complexity of the country’s cybersecurity threat landscape continues to intensify.
The statement said the findings were brought to life by the Trend Micro 2023 Midyear Cybersecurity Threat Report, which presents highlights from the company’s telemetry covering the broadest attack surface view across millions of commercial and consumer clients.
The report also uncovers key trends in criminal techniques, tactics and threat actor activity, providing important guidance for defenders looking to stay one step ahead of calculating cyber criminals.
Gareth Redelinghuys, country managing director, African Cluster, Trend Micro, said: “With each passing month, the local threat landscape becomes more intricate and convoluted. Our latest research shows that illegal actors are shifting targets and getting increasingly creative to become more efficient and prolific. Prioritising a set of proactive and holistic security solutions has never been more important.”
Furthermore the statement stated that during the first half of 2023, around 2.4 million malware families were blocked by Trend Micro in Nigeria.
“Ransomware, in particular, is a challenge for local companies, with hundreds of ransomware detections in June alone. However, the Midyear Report offers valuable insight into the ways in which ransomware groups are operating – not only updating their tools and techniques to extract data more efficiently, but also adapting their business models.
Earlier this year Trend Micro researchers discovered a new ransomware that uses legitimate search engine tools to search for files to encrypt. Investigation into this new ransomware, which researchers named ‘Mimic’, suggests a connection with the larger and more notorious Conti ransomware group. It’s suspected that collaboration between these criminal groups helps them lower costs and increase their market presence while also maintaining the efficacy of their criminal activities.
According to the report, many ransomware players are also turning their data exfiltration efforts toward tactics such as cryptocurrency theft and business email compromise (BEC).
Another key trend that emerged in the first half of 2023 was the use of AI by cybercriminals to carry out virtual crimes more efficiently.
A significant number of recently, malicious actors have abused AI technology to accurately impersonate real people as part of their attacks and scams. In fact, imposter scams such as virtual kidnapping are becoming increasingly rampant globally.
In the case of virtual kidnapping, malicious actors are able to create a deep fake voice of their victim’s child and use it as proof that they have the child in their possession to pressure the victim into sending large ransom amounts.
At the same time, ChatGPT and other AI tools are enabling criminals to automate the gathering of information, formation of target groups, and identification of vulnerable behaviours.
This is helping them lure big-name victims (also known as “big fish”) in harpoon whaling attacks.
Whaling involves tricking executives and directors through phishing campaigns for the purpose of stealing information or siphoning large sums of money.
Harpoon whaling, on the other hand, involves extensive research on targeted individuals.
This attack is a highly targeted social engineering scam that involves emails crafted with a sense of urgency and that contain personalised information about the targeted executive or director.
With AI tools becoming increasingly adept at creating text that can seem human-crafted; the effort needed to attack executives has been drastically reduced, making the targeting of hundreds of thousands of executives easier than ever before.
As innovations continue to evolve and involve more data, threat actors have also been finding more ways to victimise people.
For example, today’s connected cars contain over 100 million lines of code, giving smart functionality to the user but also opening doors to hackers. As more smart cars saturate the market, attackers will try to gain access to user account data and leverage it for crimes.
By hijacking or stealing such an account via phishing for credentials or installing malware, a cyber-criminal could locate the car, break into it and potentially sell it on for parts or follow-on crimes.
They might even be able to locate the owner’s home address and target it for burglary when they’re not in.
Threat actors have also been casting a wider net by leveraging vulnerabilities in smaller platforms for more specific targets, such as file transfer service MOVEit, business communications software 3CX, and print management software solution PaperCut.
“The increasingly sophisticated tactics being employed by hackers present a particular concern for local businesses which face untold potential damages at the hands of these malicious actors. It’s critical for defenders to gain a thorough understanding of the potential risks they are facing. Knowing these threats will help them make more informed decisions and ultimately take proactive measures to stay ahead in the increasingly convoluted cat and mouse game of cybersecurity,” Zaheer Ebrahim, solutions architect, Middle East and Africa at Trend Micro, said.
Federal government has said that it has successfully captured 59,786 inmates, representing approximately 74 percent of the total prison population into the National Identity Number (NIN) database.
This figure is based on a total of 80,879 inmates across 256 custodial centres across the country.
Abubakar Umar, spokesman, Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Deputy Controller of Corrections, who made this disclosure in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, dismissed recent media reports alleging that the NIN registration had yet to begin in custodial centres.
Umar described such report as misleading, inaccurate, and not representative of the current situation.
According to Umar, the NIN registration exercise within the correctional facilities was ongoing and has achieved substantial progress.
He credited the achievement to collaboration between the NCoS and the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has enabled successful enrollment of majority of inmates into the national identity database.
According to him, “As of June 7, 2025, a total of 59,786 inmates, roughly 74 percent cent of the total inmate population have been captured on the NIMC platform,” Umar said.
“Efforts are ongoing to register the remaining inmates, and necessary mechanisms have been established to ensure the seamless completion of the process.”
He emphasised that the assertion that NIN registration has not started in custodial centres was factually incorrect and overlooks the extensive work already carried out.
The Service reaffirmed its commitment to integrating all inmates into national data systems, including NIN registration, as part of broader efforts to support rehabilitation, reintegration, and digital inclusion for individuals in custody.
Umar also urged media outlets to confirm their information with appropriate authorities before publication to prevent the spread of misinformation that could undermine the Service’s progress and public understanding.
National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has clarified that all its verification service platforms remain fully functional and accessible to all authorized partners, including security agencies.
Abisoye Coker-Odusote, DG, NIMC
In a statement on Thursday, the Commission firmly denied claims that it had denied the Police Service Commission (PSC) access to its verification server.
Dr. Kayode Adegoke, head of Corporate Communications, NIMC, described the reported “inability of the Police Service Commission to access the NIMC verification server” as misleading and inaccurate.
He suggested that any challenges faced by the PSC may be due to internal issues within the commission itself, not from NIMC’s end.
The statement reads: “To set the record straight, the NIMC granted verification access to all Nigerian Police formations for the verification of the National Identification Number (NIN). The NPF, PSC and other security agencies have been enjoying uninterrupted verification services for over five years.
“NIMC has provided top-notch verification services for recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force, as conducted by the PSC and at no time have there been any complaints or issues regarding NIN Verification by the NPF or PSC.
“The Commission has a robust and harmonious working relationship with the Nigerian Police Force and the Police Service Commission. The Information Communications and Technology (ICT) department of the Nigeria Police Force is actively managing the long-standing verification and integration service between the NIMC and all Nigeria Police formations.Entertainment tourism packages
“NIMC will continue to provide flawless verification services for the purpose of recruitment, security mapping, cybercrime control, and any other security matters.
“The framework by which NIMC provides services to the security agencies was recently restructured for standardization and effective implementation, following consultation with the Office of the National Security Adviser, and NPF has confirmed the verification services have continued to be available. We therefore believe that any service interruption experienced by PSC may be due to internal matters.
“NIMC is committed to providing excellent verification services to the PSC, NPF and all its partners but the terms and conditions inherent must be adhered to for uninterrupted flow of service.”
Nigerian government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has announced a strategic collaboration to strengthen cybersecurity and clean up the nation’s cyberspace.
Recognizing that cybercrime knows no borders, Nigeria also reaffirmed its commitment to fostering stronger global partnerships within the cybersecurity ecosystem.
This announcement was made during a press conference before the inaugural National Cybersecurity Conference, which is scheduled to take place in Abuja from July 9th to 11th, 2025.
Sa’ad Abubakar, national cybersecurity coordinator from the Office of National Security Advisor, said fighting cybercrime must take the whole of society and the whole of the government approach.
According to him, “Apart from the deterrent approach whereby government agencies such as Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrest individuals, take them to court and prosecute them, the youth can be nurtured into better citizens who can showcase their capacity in better ways and be useful to the country.”
Similarly, Kashifu Abdullahi, director-general, NITDA, also stressed the need for collaborative efforts in fighting cybercrimes.
According to him “Then, in addition to that, we also want to build a stronger global collaboration with the global cyber security ecosystem, because when you look at cybercrime in general, it doesn’t respect the borders.
“Someone can commit a crime from Ghana using a Nigerian ID in the US. So you can look at him physically in a different jurisdiction, pretending to be in another jurisdiction, committing the crime in another jurisdiction.
“So without that kind of synergy and working together, it will be difficult to address these challenges. The third one is challenge. The third one is getting an alternative to cybercrime for our kids in Nigeria. We have this as a major challenge.”
Inuwa further highlighted the upcoming conference’s importance, noting that it would tackle key issues through workshops, discussions on emerging threats, cross-border cybersecurity collaboration strategies, and training programmes.
He also announced that the National Cybersecurity Conference 2025 would feature the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards, recognising top contributions in the field.
The DG extended an invitation to global partners to collaborate with Nigeria in building a safer digital future.
The press conference was attended by notable figures, including Ahmad Sa’ad Abubakar, National Coordinator of, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre (NCCC); Hanniel Jafar, Representative of the President, of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN); Ankit Shukla, Managing Director, QNA Marketing Management LLC and members of the press and other stakeholders.
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