FIJ Website Hit By Cyberattacks After Exposing Illegal NIN Data Sales, Attack Linked To NIMC
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has come under coordinated cyberattacks days after publishing investigations that exposed the illegal sale of Nigerians’ National Identification Number (NIN) data.
According to FIJ, its website suffered a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on Thursday, briefly knocking it offline. Technical analysis revealed a single IP address launched over 50,000 requests in one hour, with traces linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headquarters in Abuja.
The attack came after a series of FIJ investigations uncovered multiple platforms—NINPrint, NINCard, nimcverify.ng, and IloTech—illegally selling Nigerians’ personal data for as low as ₦150 per record. In some cases, FIJ was able to buy the records of prominent Nigerians, including Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Despite NIMC’s mandate to safeguard national identity data, FIJ reported that the agency failed to act against these companies for months, even when aware of their activities. Following FIJ’s publications, however, the illegal websites were shut down within days.
FIJ said the DDoS attack highlights an attempt to silence investigative journalism and shield entrenched interests.
#CyberAttack #DataPrivacy #Nigeria #FIJInvestigates
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has come under coordinated cyberattacks days after publishing investigations that exposed the illegal sale of Nigerians’ National Identification Number (NIN) data.
According to FIJ, its website suffered a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on Thursday, briefly knocking it offline. Technical analysis revealed a single IP address launched over 50,000 requests in one hour, with traces linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headquarters in Abuja.
The attack came after a series of FIJ investigations uncovered multiple platforms—NINPrint, NINCard, nimcverify.ng, and IloTech—illegally selling Nigerians’ personal data for as low as ₦150 per record. In some cases, FIJ was able to buy the records of prominent Nigerians, including Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Despite NIMC’s mandate to safeguard national identity data, FIJ reported that the agency failed to act against these companies for months, even when aware of their activities. Following FIJ’s publications, however, the illegal websites were shut down within days.
FIJ said the DDoS attack highlights an attempt to silence investigative journalism and shield entrenched interests.
#CyberAttack #DataPrivacy #Nigeria #FIJInvestigates
FIJ Website Hit By Cyberattacks After Exposing Illegal NIN Data Sales, Attack Linked To NIMC
The Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) has come under coordinated cyberattacks days after publishing investigations that exposed the illegal sale of Nigerians’ National Identification Number (NIN) data.
According to FIJ, its website suffered a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack on Thursday, briefly knocking it offline. Technical analysis revealed a single IP address launched over 50,000 requests in one hour, with traces linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) headquarters in Abuja.
The attack came after a series of FIJ investigations uncovered multiple platforms—NINPrint, NINCard, nimcverify.ng, and IloTech—illegally selling Nigerians’ personal data for as low as ₦150 per record. In some cases, FIJ was able to buy the records of prominent Nigerians, including Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
Despite NIMC’s mandate to safeguard national identity data, FIJ reported that the agency failed to act against these companies for months, even when aware of their activities. Following FIJ’s publications, however, the illegal websites were shut down within days.
FIJ said the DDoS attack highlights an attempt to silence investigative journalism and shield entrenched interests.
#CyberAttack #DataPrivacy #Nigeria #FIJInvestigates
