Barely one month after the ravaging attack by WannaCry ransomware in parts of the world hanging and disrupting computer systems, the management of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Wednesday, raised fresh alarm on the emergence of another deadly cyber-attack, known as ‘Petya’ ransomware or ‘GoldenEye’.
The new attack do not only encrypts files but also encrypts hard drives, rendering entire computer system inaccessible.
Already, businesses around Asia reported serious disruptions caused by the attacks as experts gather in Israel to find a solution to the current and future attacks.
The attack has paralysed businesses across the world and is spreading quickly with reports showing that countries affected so far include Ukraine, Denmark, Russia, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Poland and the USA. The malware is spreading using a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows that was patched in March 2017 — the same bug that was exploited by the WannaCryransomware.
NITDA noted that while our CERRT team is working round the clock along with other stakeholders to come up with effective defence mechanism for the Nigerian cyberspace, we are calling on Network Administrators in the public and private sectors as well as individuals to take the following measures recommended during the recent WannaCry attack.
The federal internet watchdog advised Nigerians to among other things isolate the system from your network to prevent the threat from further spreading; remove the system from Network; and do not use flash/pen drive, external drives on the System to copy files to other systems.
A statement signed by the Director General of NITDA, Dr. Isah Pandami, said “As a general precautionary measure and as the security of systems is our collective responsibility, we would like to recommend that individuals and organisations should regularly update their operating systems with the latest patches; and regularly update their software applications with latest patches”.
Other precautionary measures advised by NITDA include turning off unnecessary/unneeded features; avoid downloading and opening unsolicited files and attachments; adjust security software to scan compressed or archived files; and avoid indiscriminate use wireless connections, such as Bluetooth or infrared ports.
Business Hilights recalls that the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is an Agency under the Federal Ministry of Communications. The Agency was created in April 2001 to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country. Specifically, Section 6(j) of the Act mandates NITDA to advise the Government on ways of promoting the development of information technology in Nigeria including introducing appropriate information technology legislations and ways of enhancing national security and the vibrancy of the industry.
