Nigerian govt raises alarm over rise in ransomware attacks

The Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team, ngCERT, has raised alarm over the rise in ransomware attacks on critical institutions in Nigeria.

The ngCERT disclosed this in a recent statement, noting that Phobos ransomware attackers commonly gain entry into vulnerable networks.

According to ngCERT, the most at-risk entities include providers of information technology and telecommunication services, such as managed cloud services, whose clients include critical government agencies, financial institutions, telecommunications, education, healthcare, service providers and non-governmental organisations Nigeria.

Although specific affected organizations or entities in Nigeria were not mentioned, ngCERT assured that it was actively collaborating with vulnerable and affected organizations to swiftly resolve these incidents and prevent further escalation.

“It’s essential for organizations to proactively implement the mitigation strategies outlined in this document to help prevent the spread of the malware”, ngCERT stated.

Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission said Nigeria lost $500 million to cybercrime.