Paradigm Initiative, PIN, the firm that connects under-served young Africans with digital opportunities, has raised alarm over data breach by several unauthorised websites claiming to hold and provide access to sensitive personal and financial data of Nigerian citizens for as little as N100.
The firm raised the alarm at a briefing yesterday in Lagos, saying he original National Identity Number, NIN, of both the high and low citizen’s could be obtained with just N100.
Executive Director of PIN, Gbenga Sesan, said the alarming development presented a major breach of the fundamental rights to privacy, a breach of data privacy rights and poses significant risks to individuals and the national economy, adding that there was data impunity and abuse in the country.
Sesan expressed concern over the existence of these websites which highlights significant gap in data protection and cybersecurity measures within the country.
He lamented that the dissemination of such information poses a big challenge on NIN and Bank Verification Number, BVN linking.
He called on government to urgently take action to address the issue by conducting a thorough investigation to identify these ilegal activities, enhance cybersecurity measures to prevent further data breaches, implement Nigeria data protection Act. strengthen the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, NDPC, among others.
