In recent times, Nigeria has become entangled in the political crisis of its neighboring country, Niger, and this has drawn the attention of the notorious hacktivist group, Anonymous Sudan.
The group has claimed responsibility for initiating a series of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
This claim by Anonymous Sudan has been corroborated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), a government agency responsible for monitoring and safeguarding the nation’s digital assets.
According to a press statement seen by Technext, NITDA confirmed the activities of the hacktivist group, which is known for its politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns.
NITDA expressed concern over the significant risk posed by the group to Nigeria’s critical information infrastructure, highlighting its use of targeted attacks on government digital services, particularly through DDoS attacks.
While the NITDA did not explicitly name Anonymous Sudan as the responsible group, further investigation by Technext confirmed their involvement.
The hacktivist group utilized its private Telegram channel to announce the disruption of service by MTN, a prominent telecom company in Nigeria.
The attacks on MTN services affected various aspects of communication, including difficulties in accessing Google pages, problems with mobile applications and website usage, customer care panels, bank top-ups, and recharge line systems.
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Is Anonymous Sudan attacking Nigeria due to Niger’s situation?
The motivation behind these attacks appears to be linked to the ongoing crisis in Niger. Anonymous Sudan had previously executed DDoS attacks in Kenya to discourage the country from deploying peacekeepers to Sudan.
Similarly, in this case, the attacks on Nigeria are likely driven by Nigeria’s efforts to restore civilian rule in Niger, following the coup led by General Abdourahmane Tchiani that overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum’s democratically elected government.
As President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria heads the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional group to which Niger belongs, it is understandable that Nigeria has a vested interest in resolving the crisis in its neighboring country.
The ties between Nigeria and Niger have been historically strong, with previous Nigerian administrations making controversial decisions, such as investing in a rail project for Niger and purchasing vehicles worth N1.4 billion for the Nigerien government.
Conclusion
Given the uncertainty surrounding the duration and targets of these cyber-attacks, the NITDA has advised all government ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as private companies like telcos, to deploy DDoS monitoring systems, subscribe to DDoS protection features, and configure hardware such as firewalls to counteract DNS responses from outside the network.
These measures aim to enhance cybersecurity and protect Nigeria’s digital infrastructure from future attacks.
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