Friday 27 February 2015

Nigeria 2015 Elections Update: United States Warns Citizens Against Travel To Nigeria Amidst Boko Haram Attacks

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Nigeria and recommends that U.S. citizens avoid all travel to Adamawa, Borno, and Yobe states because the security situation in northeast Nigeria remains fluid and unpredictable. The U.S. Department of State strongly urges U.S. citizens in Nigeria to consider their own personal security and to keep personal safety in the forefront of their travel planning.  This Travel Warning replaces the Travel Warning for Nigeria dated August 11, 2014.

ISIS Recruiting Nigerian Youths Through Social Media

Coordinator of the National Information Centre, Mr. Mike Omeri, has sounded the alarm that the blood-thirsty Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, ISIS, is currently using the social media to radicalize and recruit Nigerian youths, particularly those who come from a wealthy background.

Thursday 26 February 2015

Five Persons Killed As Factional Groups Clash in Oshodi, Lagos

 Five persons were killed and about 30 vehicles burnt by irate youths on Wednesday in a renewed clash between two factional groups of thugs at the Mosafejo Saudi Motor Park in Oshodi.

Wednesday 25 February 2015

Nigeria Cybercrime Bill Allows Govt To Spy on Nigerians, Prescribes Death Sentence For Hackers

A draft law empowering security agents to intercept, record and seize electronic communications among individuals has been crafted  by the Federal Government and sent to the National Assembly.

United States Offers $3m Reward For Information On 'One of World's Prolific Hackers'

Evgeniy Bogachev

The US government has announced a $3m reward for information leading to the arrest of a man American authorities call one of the world's most prolific cyber hackers.

Tuesday 24 February 2015

Gunmen Kidnap American Woman In Central Nigeria

Phyllis Sortor
Masked gunmen in central Nigeria kidnapped an American woman doing missionary work, with ransom the suspected motive for the attack, police told AFP Tuesday.

Anti-Boko Haram Nigerian Activist Wins Japan Peace Prize Worth $170,000

Esther Ibanga
TOKYO: A Nigerian woman who has campaigned against Islamist extremists Boko Haram was on Tuesday awarded a Japanese peace prize worth $170,000.

The Spy Cables: A Glimpse Into The World of Espionage

A digital leak to Al Jazeera of hundreds of secret intelligence documents from the world's spy agencies has offered an unprecedented insight into operational dealings of the shadowy and highly politicised realm of global espionage.

How A Swedish Suburb Became A Breeding Ground For Foreign Fighters Streaming Into Syria And Iraq

Foreign Fighters In Syria (Source: statista.com)
When he was 3 years old, Ahmed arrived in southern Sweden from Iraq, together with his older brother and parents. The family settled in one of their new country’s cut-off suburbs, where its many new immigrants come to live, but mostly to be forgotten.

Five Ways To Engage The Private Sector In Countering Violent Extremism

Emerging Voices features contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development challenges. This article is by Dr. Khalid Koser, executive director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and a nonresident senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution.

The Road To A Post Insurgency-Free Nigeria

With no intention to play down the intensity of current security hitches in some parts of the country, I make bold to state that the progress so far recorded in our quest to root out insurgency from our land is hope-inspiring. Even though there are some traces of insecurity, the truth is that we have covered appreciable grounds.

Telephone Denial of Service Attack (TDoS): A New Hacking Tool That Floods Networks With Spam Phone Calls

Hackers are selling a new tool that lets anyone flood a phone network with spam phone calls.
The Register reports that Eastern-European hackers have developed a new piece of kit that is being sold online. The TNT Instant Up can be used to flood phone numbers with calls, stopping the phone from being used until the device is turned off.

Sahel-Based Militants Accumulate $220m In Ransom Payments- Algerian NGO

Militant groups active in the African Sahel region have accumulated $220 million in ransoms paid to free westerners they held hostage since 2013, head of an Algerian NGO said on Sunday.

Monday 23 February 2015

Terror Alert! Al Qaeda-Linked Al-Shabaab Calls For Attacks On ‘Jewish-Owned’ Shopping Malls in UK, Canada & USA

United States and British security services are assessing the credibility of new threats against western shopping centres issued by Somali-based Islamist terrorists.

U.K Spy Court Declares Information Sharing Between NSA And GCHQ Illegal

The UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) has ruled that the information sharing between the NSA and GCHQ was unlawful up until December 2014.

Gunmen Abduct Governor Amaechi's Aide, Disrupt APC Rally In Rivers State

Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi is sweating over the whereabouts of his aide, Mr. Freddie Ndigbara; who was abducted by unknown gunmen, at an APC rally, in one on the local governments in the state.

Indian Dies In Lagos After Attack By Robbers

An Indian national, Mr. Srivastava Kumar, has died in a hospital after he was attacked by suspected robbers in the Lekki Ajah area of Lagos.

Australian PM - Tony Abbott To Launch New Strategy To Counter 'Long-term Era of Terrorism'

Tony Abbott
The Australian government will create a national strategy to beat violent extremism and appoint a counter-terrorism coordinator to tackle what the prime minister, Tony Abbott, calls a “new, long-term era of heightened terrorism”.

Terrorism Fueled International Opinion Against Islam - King Salman Of Saudi Arabia

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Sunday denounced terrorism and radical Islamists who he said were not only “threatening Muslims” but also tainting and vilifying the image of Islam to non-Muslims.

Sunday 22 February 2015

Maldives Ex-President Nasheed Arrested On Terrorism Charges

Mohammed Nasheed
Police in the Maldives have arrested opposition leader and ex-President Mohamed Nasheed on terror charges.

7-Year Old Female Suicide Bomber Kills Self, Five Others In Potiskum, Yobe State

At least five people have been killed and dozens wounded, when a plausibly 7-year old female suicide bomber detonated herself outside a market in the northeast Nigerian town of Potiskum in Yobe State, witnesses said.

Fleeing Boko Haram Terrorists Drown In Lake Chad; Sect Used Land Mines

A large number of terrorists have drowned in the Lake Chad as they fled the heavy bombardment by Nigerian Air force heralding the advance of Nigerian troops on mission to flush them out of Baga, the Nigerian defence headquarters has said.

Security Alertt! More Political Rallies Likely To Be Bombed- Police Intelligence Report

The Nigeria Police Force Headquarters has received intelligence reports that there are plots to bomb more political rallies ahead of the re-scheduled general elections.

Nigerian Military Retakes Key Town from Boko Haram

Nigeria's military said Saturday that it had reclaimed a strategic border town from the Boko Haram militant group, while other reports said the militants continued their deadly campaign elsewhere in the country's northeast.

Saturday 21 February 2015

Boko Haram's Shifting Media Propaganda: Is Sect Poised For A Wider Conflict?

Shekau (In His Latest Video)
From grainy, amateurish footage and rambling, almost inaudible speeches to slick, expertly edited productions, Boko Haram's media strategy has undergone a transformation in recent months. The Nigerian militants this week published two videos that contrasted starkly with earlier efforts, using visual cues and a style resembling similar messages from the Islamic State jihadists.

Nonsense About Terrorism's 'Root Causes - Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst

The Obama administration this week hosted a three-day conference on "Countering Violent Extremism," which is a government euphemism for how best to deal with Islamist terrorism. Already a predictable tsunami of nonsense has washed over us about the "root causes" of terrorism.

When A Terrorist Organization Becomes An 'Armed Insurgency'

An organization that regularly uses suicide attacks against innocent civilians has been designated an "armed insurgency" by the White House.
The Afghanistan Taliban has sent dozens of suicide bombers and attackers to hit soft targets in Afghanistan, but the administration says it's OK to negotiate with them because they're not terrorists.

Boko Haram Splits; Breakway Faction Circulates Message Critical of Shekau

Boko Haram has split under the recent relentless pounding from the Nigerian armed forces and diplomatic successes scored by President Jonathan, through the creation of a multilateral force against the terrorist organization.

Thursday 19 February 2015

The Great SIM Heist: How Spy Agencies Stole Encryption Keys Protecting Privacy of Cellphones

SIM Cards
AMERICAN AND BRITISH spies hacked into the internal computer network of the largest manufacturer of SIM cards in the world, stealing encryption keys used to protect the privacy of cellphone communications across the globe, according to top-secret documents provided to The Intercept by National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Bank App That Lets You Log In With Fingerprint 'Can Be Hacked By Almost Anybody': Security Expert Says System Is As Safe As 'Leaving House Keys Under The Door Mat'

Users merely have to press finger to smartphone to get into their accounts
  • Feature has been installed by Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest
  • Banks say around 880,000 of their customers can use Touch ID on iPhones
  • One expert compared it to 'leaving your house keys under the door mat'
Two High Street banks are letting customers access their money by using fingerprint technology that security experts warn ‘almost anybody’ could crack.

Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest have installed the feature so that users of their mobile banking apps merely have to press a finger on to their smartphone to get into their accounts.

But Professor Mike Jackson, a cybersecurity expert at Birmingham City University, claims the technology offers about as much security as ‘leaving your house keys under the front doormat’.

‘It is not something I would do – put it that way,’ he added.
The banks’ apps utilise Apple’s Touch ID feature, which lets owners of an iPhone 5, 6 or 6 Plus access their device by touching the button under the screen.

If the fingerprint matches one they have stored previously, the screen is unlocked. On earlier models, users must enter a numerical code instead.
RBS and NatWest, both part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, say around 880,000 of their customers have the newer iPhones so can now get into their bank accounts using Touch ID. 

They simply activate the technology first by inputting their usual security information.

 Almost anybody, given enough chance, would be able to break it. If you can get hold of a good finger print, it is very easy to fool [the technology]
Professor Mike Jackson, a cybersecurity expert at Birmingham City University 
 
But experts claim these people may be putting their money at risk as Touch ID only examines the look of fingerprints. 

So criminals could easily break into someone’s bank account by using a high-quality photograph or clear image of the phone-owner’s fingerprint.
Such an image could even be gleaned from the phone’s screen itself. More sophisticated fingerprint-recognition systems can detect the warmth and veins within fingers.

Ben Schlabs of the German think tank SRLabs said: ‘Fingerprints are not fit for secure local-user authentication as long as “fake fingers” can be produced from these pervasive copies. It is a very different risk to something that is inside your brain [such as a PIN code].’

And Professor Mike Jackson said: ‘Almost anybody, given enough chance, would be able to break it. If you can get hold of a good finger print, it is very easy to fool [the technology]. It is that insecure.’

When Touch ID was launched, a group of hackers got around it by making a fake finger from a photograph of a fingerprint. They showed how criminals could present the photograph to the iPhone’s button or use it to fashion a latex model to hold against the smartphone.

RBS and NatWest yesterday said they were confident the fingerprint technology was safe to use, pointing out it was already popular with banks in the US and other countries.

‘We do everything we can to make banking secure for our customers and we’ve tested this to make sure it was safe before launch,’ they added.
Mobile banking users whose iPhones are stolen can deactivate their Touch ID by calling the bank.

Source;
MailOnline

'We Are Not At War With Islam'- Obama's Message At CVE Summit

Barack Obama (POTUS)
President Barack Obama says the United States is not at war with Islam. The U.S. leader told a White House summit on combating violent extremism he wants to discredit the belief that Americans and Westerners in general are at odds with Muslims. He said this narrative helps extremists radicalize and recruit young Americans and others.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

U.S To Allow Widespread Export Of Armed Drones To Foreign Countries

The Obama administration will permit the widespread export of armed drones for the first time, a step toward providing allied nations with weapons that have become a cornerstone of U.S. counterterrorism strategy but whose remotely controlled power to kill is intensely controversial.

Boko Haram Leader - Shekau Releases New Video, Vows To Disrupt Nigeria Election

Shekau (Centre)
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to disrupt Nigeria’s general election in a new video released Tuesday, after two suicide attacks in the northeast blamed on the Islamists killed 38 people.
“This election will not be held even if we are dead. Even if we are not alive Allah will never allow you to do it,” Shekau said in the Hausa language, presumably referring to the polls scheduled for March 28.

United States Set To Provide African Nations With Equipment and Intelligence to Fight Boko Haram in Nigeria

U.S. army to provide equipment, intelligence to fight Boko Haram
N’DJAMENA (Reuters) - The United States military will provide communications equipment and intelligence to help African nations in the fight against Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, the commander of U.S. Special Forces operations in Africa said.

Tuesday 17 February 2015

Is Internet of Things (IoT) A Security Timebomb?

Hailed as a panacea by those for whom the world cannot move quickly enough, the Internet of Things has been a long time coming. But is Internet of Things security up to scratch?

Indian Millionaire Charged With Murder After Security Guard 'Took Too Long To Open Gate'


Mr Nisham is known in India as a 'beedi baron'
One of India's wealthiest tobacco barons has been charged with murder after he allegedly rammed his Humvee car into a security guard who took too long to open his gate.

Cybersecurity: 10 Ways Employees Can Cause Data Breaches

In a perfect world, employees would have excellent cyber security habits and never put the company’s network or data at risk. This isn’t a perfect world, however, and the reality is employees do a lot of things that mess with a CISO’s on-the-job sanity.

BREAKING: Scores Killed By Multiple Blast On Military Checkpoint Near Biu-Borno State

Eleven people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on a military checkpoint near the town of Biu, Borno State in northeast Nigeria on Tuesday, a vigilante and a resident said. Early reports attributed the blast to the handiwork of Boko Haram.

White House Prepares for Summit on Countering Violent Extremism

The summit comes in the wake of fresh attacks across the globe.

Japan To Provide $15.5 million In Middle East-Africa Counterterrorism Aid

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will provide $15.5 million in aid to support counter-terrorism efforts in the Middle East and Africa, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday, doubling the figure pledged last month.

Social Media Security Tips For Corporate Organizations

Social-media use can provide benefits to a small business. Yet, use of social media by employees can compromise the company’s security. Many company leaders and business owners don’t know this. 

Monday 16 February 2015

Nigerian Military Retakes Monguno, Other Communities From Boko Haram

Nigerian troops fighting the insurgent group, Boko Haram, have reclaimed the town of Monguno and other communities in the North East after nearly two days of fighting. Boko Haram carried out a pre-dawn attack on Monguno, which is about 137 kilometres from Maiduguri, the Borno State capital over two weeks ago.

Daredevil Boko Haram Insurgents Attack Cameroon Army Base, Several Wounded

MAROUA, Cameroon (Reuters) - Nigerian Boko Haram insurgents attacked a Cameroon military camp near the town of Waza in the north of the country on Monday, wounding several soldiers, an army spokesman said.

Nigerian Security Operatives Invade Home of Reuters’ Correspondent in Bayelsa

Men from the Department of State Security (DSS) over the weekend invaded the home of the Niger Delta correspondent of the Thomson Reuters in the Niger Delta, Mr. Tife Owolabi, for alleged espionage.

EFCC Arrests Nigerian Fugitive Wanted For Murder in U.K

Abdul-Adewale-Kekere-Edun
Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has arrested Abdul Adewale Kekere-Ekun, a Nigerian fugitive wanted in the United Kingdom for murder.

Insurgency: Nigerian Air Force Tests New Equipments In Lagos, Urges Public Not To Panic

The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday in Lagos said it had incorporated some new systems and ammunition aimed at the continuous fight against insurgency in the country.

Police Declare 10 Bankers Wanted Over N125m Fraud

The Zone 2 Police Command in Lagos State on Sunday declared 10 suspected bankers wanted over alleged N125.1 million scam.

How Hackers Stole $1 Billion From 100 Banks Using Malware

Despite increased online and mobile banking security, banks are more often being targeted by hackers. A hacker group has infiltrated a number of banks and financial institutions in several countries, stealing hundreds of Millions of dollars in possibly the biggest bank heist the world has ever seen.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation Announces Package of Urgent Measures To Counterterrorism

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) announced a package of urgent measures to prevent the rapid spread of terrorism, which has hit a number of OIC member states, and halt a surge pf violence in the Muslim world.

Saturday 14 February 2015

South Africa’s Covert Role In The Fight Against Boko Haram

For two weeks now, stories about the regional alliance between Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Benin through a Multi National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) aimed at taming Boko Haram have been prominent.

Thursday 12 February 2015