Victor EzejaChairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has raised the alarm over attempts to hack into the commission’s digital database as the 2023 general elections approach.
Yakubu made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking at the 2022 National Conference of the National Association of Judiciary Correspondents (NAJUC) in Abuja with the theme, “2023 General Elections: Judiciary and Sustainability of Nigeria’s Democracy.”
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe INEC chairman, who was represented by the deputy director of ICT, Dr Lawrence Bayode, said their checks revealed that the attacks were by hackers from different parts of the world and not just Nigeria.
“We were looking at the system and we saw that people were trying to come into the system from France but we are also putting some things in place,” Bayode stated.
He disclosed that the Commission has put every technical measure in place to ensure that the system is well fortified against any form of cyber attack.
He assured that the Bimodal Voter Registration System (BVAS), the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) system is now well-secured to make it difficult to beat.
Recall that the INEC Chairman had in September 2022, revealed how hackers from Asia launched cyber attacks several times on the Commission’s portal during the Ekiti/Osun governorship election but were conquered.
He said then that the aim of the hackers was to gain access and compromise authentic election results.
The electoral body had subsequently, assured that it had made the system more secured and would be difficult for cyber attackers to hack into.
Bayode reiterated that the Commission will only allow voters with permanent voter cards (PVC) and proper accreditation as provided in Section 47(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, to participate in the poll.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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