Ransomware Virus: NCC Warns People About The Dangerous WannaCry Attack

The Nigerian
Communications
Commission (NCC) in
fulfilment of its statutory
mandate to assure the
security and integrity of the national
telecommunications
network wishes to alert all
operators and their
respective subscribers of the
recent outbreak of a Ransomware Virus known
as “WannaCry”.
The Ransomware is capable
of infecting and encrypting
all files on a system or any
smart device until an
amount is paid for a
decryption key, or other means of retrieval (which
may lead to data loss) are
used to recover the system
as an alternative. This
situation demands that
proactive measures be taken by all players in the
telecommunication eco-
system to forestall the
hazards of critical data loss,
financial losses and
ultimately network/ business disruption. The NCC therefore wishes to
advise that the following
protective measures be
taken, amongst others:

✔ To obtain software patch
released by Microsoft in
March 2017 to fix the
Ransomware Virus.

✔️ To plan scheduled
penetration tests on the
networks and systems to
ensure protection and
availability at all times.

✔ Subscribers who use their
smartphones as substitutes
to computers for internet
access should protect
themselves and their
devices by:

✔️ Not opening e-mail
attachments/links from
unknown sources.

✔ Not clicking pop-ups and
applets on unknown
websites.

✔ Installing effective
antivirus software for their
mobile devices.

Furthermore, the NCC has
taken the following
proactive measures in
fulfilling its statutory
mandate;
The Commission has advised
Mobile Network Operators
(MNOs) to initiate regular
assessment and audit of
their cybersecurity
readiness. All operators should continue to ensure
that their backup/ disaster
recovery strategies are in
place and up to date.

✔ The Commission has
further advised all operators
to ensure continued
deployment of effective
firewalls, login passwords
and antivirus management regime.

✔ The Commission will
continue to provide more
cybersecurity training for its
staff.

✔ The Commission is
working towards creating a
link with the Cybersecurity
Alert System on its website
so that current information
on global cyber threats/ incidents could be
immediately communicated
to stakeholders. Sus!!!