NBS Website ‘Kidnapped’ After Revelation Of N2.3 Trillion Ransom Payment

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has confirmed that its website has been hacked. This development reflects the increasing wave of cyberattacks on public institutions in the country and remarkably came hours after the revelation by the NBS of the humongous payment of more than N2.3 trillion to kidnappers in one year.

In a statement shared on its official X handle, the NBS said, “This is to inform the public that the NBS website has been hacked, and we are working to recover it. Please disregard any messages or reports posted until the website is fully restored. Thank you.”

As of 9:45 p.m. on Wednesday, visitors to the NBS website encountered a nearly blank page with the message, “Page Hacked.”

Cyberattacks on government websites have become more frequent in recent times. Earlier this year, a major breach revealed that a private website had gained unauthorized access to National Identification Numbers (NINs) and personal information of citizens.

In response to the growing threat, the federal government has issued over 30 warnings about cyberattacks in the past year. A cybersecurity firm, Check Point Software Technologies, ranked Nigeria 19th in the world for cyber threats in July 2024.

The firm also reported that government institutions in the country experience an average of 1,791 cyberattacks every week.

GWG.ng reports that the NBS website was hacked and literally taken away by online kidnappers after it revealed that Nigerians paid as much as N2.3 trillion as ransom in one year up to May 2023.

It is not known yet if the NBS would be paying a ransom to hackers to have its hacked website released.

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