The NIMC Head ofIT,EngineerYusuf,discusses a potential data breach involving licensed verificationpartners,emphasizing the need for data protection and addressing fake NINslips.
Points
- Licensedverificationpartnerscouldbeinvolvedinthedatabreach.
- NIMC’sdataisaccessedthroughAPIsbythesepartners.
- FakeNINslipsarecirculating,claimedtobepurchasedonline.
- NIMCstressestheimportanceofsecuredigitalidentitymanagement.
- DataprotectionandsecuritymeasuresarebeingemphasizedbyNIMC.
EngineerYusuf,the NIMC Head ofIT,suggested that the possible data breach might involve licensed verificationpartners.He emphasized that while the NIMC itself has not beenbreached,thesepartners,who have legitimate access to thedata,might have allowed it to be harvested by unauthorizedentities.He likened the situation to a marketplace where harvested data is sold to interestedbuyers.
“Sorightfully,licensed people will have access to ourdata.But as you cansee,it is like we have a market square whereby some individuals and organizations have harvested data from different organizations and are in the marketplace trying to sell to interestedbuyers,”Yusufstated.
The terminology of data harvesting is relatively new in the identityecosystem,with the increasing value of data likened to that ofoil.Yusuf highlighted the importance of protecting and securing this data within a protectedenvironment.
NIMCDeniesAuthenticityofParadedNINSlip
In the samediscussion,the NIMC addressed claims that the NIN slip of the Minister of Communication and DigitalEconomy,Dr.BosunTijani,was purchasedonline.The Head of CorporateCommunications,KayodeAdegoke,asserted that the slip being circulated isfake.He challenged the legitimacy of the slip and pointed out the necessity of verification and authentication for any government serviceaccess.
“Whenyou obtain yourNIN,the data on your NIN is stored in ourdatabase.Anytime you want to access any governmentservice,the NIN you present will be verified andauthenticated.Data surpasses demographicdata;it includes crucial elements like fingerprint and irisscans,”Adegokeexplained.
解説
- ImportanceofDataSecurity:Theconversationunderscoresthecriticalimportanceofdatasecurity,particularlyingovernmentalsystemswheresensitivepersonalinformationisstored.
- AuthenticationMeasures:Emphasizingthemulti-layeredauthenticationinvolvingdemographicdata,fingerprints,andirisscanstopreventmisuseofidentitytokens.
- PublicAwareness:Thereisaneedforincreasedpublicawarenessregardingdigitalidentitymanagementandthemeasuresinplacetoprotectpersonaldata.
- ImpactonTrust:ThecirculationoffakeNINslipscanerodepublictrustinthesystem,highlightingtheimportanceofaddressingtheseissuespromptly.