. . . Advises against giving data to phishing sites

The National Identity Management Commission (“NIMC” or the “Commission”) on Saturday strongly condemned the alleged exposure of sensitive data of Nigerian citizens by some unauthorised websites.

“The Commission, at this moment, assures the public that the data of Nigerians has not been compromised, and the Commission have not authorised any website or entity to sell or misuse the National Identification Number (NIN) amongst all the identities stated in the report,” NIMC said in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke.

Mentioning names of websites to avoid, NIMC said: “The following websites: idfinder.com.ng; Verify. Ng/sign in, championtech.com.ng, trustyonline.com, and anyverify.com are data harvesters not authorised by NIMC to access or manage sensitive data. NIMC urges the public to disregard any claims or services these websites offer and should not give their data as they are potentially fraudulent and data provided by the public on such websites are gathered and stored to build the data services they illegally provide.”

Consequently, the public should know that the Commission has taken robust measures to safeguard the nation's database from cyber threats- a secure, world-class, full-proof database is in place. The commission's infrastructure meets the stringent ISO27001:2013 Information Security Management System Standard, with annual recertification and strict compliance with the Nigerian Data Protection Law. Furthermore, NIMC advises Nigerians to avoid giving their data to unauthorized and phishing sites. This poses the danger of data harvesting and comprises individual data.”

The Commission reaffirmed its commitment “to upholding ethical standards in data protection in line with federal government directives and data privacy regulations.”

“Moreover,” according to NIMC, “licensed partners or vendors are not authorised to scan or store NIN slips but to verify NINs through approved channels.”

It disclosed that, “The Commission is currently working closely with security operatives to apprehend these elements masquerading as online vendors, and they will be made to face the full wrath of the law.”

“NIMC urges the public to remain vigilant against false information and rely on verified sources for accurate updates. The Commission remains committed to providing secure and reliable identity management and upholding the highest level of security for systems and databases, which are critical national assets,” the statement added.

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