The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) Monday allays fears over hacking its Servers and facilities, saying that its servers were not breached.

Dismissing the fears, NIMC assures that its servers are fully optimised at the highest international security levels as the custodian of the most important national database for Nigeria.

The Director-General of NIMC, Engr. Aliyu Aziz, in a New Year message said as the custodian of the foundational identity database for Africa’s most populous nation, NIMC has gone to great lengths to ensure the nation’s database is adequately secured and protected especially given the spate of cyber-attacks on networks across the world.

The DG stated that the Commission does not use nor store information on the AWS cloud platform or any public cloud despite the usefulness of the NIMC Mobile App available to the public for accessing their NIN on the go.

The DG further stated that the NIMC MobileID application has no database within the app, nor does it store information in flat files. The Commission has made this app available to the public to reduce and eliminate any delay or challenge(s) in accessing one’s NIN.

While wishing all Nigerians and legal residents a happy and prosperous new year 2022, Aziz appealed to all stakeholders to embrace the identity, enrol and receive their NINs.

He stated that the Federal government’s efforts in providing security and economic solace for all Nigerians will be enhanced when the entire population is enrolled into the national identity database.

News Express learnt that over the years, NIMC has built a robust and credible system for Nigeria’s identity database.

It was further learnt that the Commission and its infrastructure are certified to the ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System Standard which are revalidated annually.

Kayode Olagoke, Head, media of NIMC, said in a statement that the Commission has ensured maximum security of its systems and database, because of the critical nature of the identity data which it collects, manages and maintains as critical assets for the country.

“The Commission assures the public that it will continue to uphold the highest ethical standards in data security on behalf of the Federal Government and ensure compliance with data protection and privacy regulations”. He said.

According to him the public should be aware that the possession of a NIN slip does not amount to access to the National Identity Database, but that the NIN slip is just a physical assertion of a person's identity. “Under the data protection regulations, no licensed partner/vendor is authorized to scan and store copies of individuals NIN slips but rather authenticate the NIN using the approved and authorized verification platforms/channels provided.

“As part of its policies to protect personally identifiable information stored in the National Identity Database, the public may recall that the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy through NIMC launched the Tokenization features of the NIN verification service. This solution is to safeguard the personal data of individuals and ensure continuous user rights and privacy”. He said.

NIMC commends efforts of Federal government agencies such as Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigeria Immigration Services, Pension Commission (PenCom), Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Customs for having streamlined their services in line with the use of National Identification Number (NIN) as the valid means of identification as well as in compliance with the mandatory use of NIN for government services.

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