POLITICAL DIVERSION: DEPARTMENT OF STATE SERVICES CLAIMS APC PLANNED TO HACK INTO INEC DATABASE

The Department of State Services, DSS, said today that their investigations indicate that the APC had plans to hack into the database of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

NAN reports thus:

DSS said it had uncovered lists containing names and photographs of security personnel, foreigners and minor/under-aged on the registered members list of the All Progressive Congress (APC). Also , there was an elaborate and well articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database. The spokesperson of DSS, Marilyn Ogar, disclosed this on Wednesday at a news conference in Abuja.

Ogar also said that video with tutorial for hacking was also uncovered when the service raided a building in Lagos.

She displayed the lists and other items recovered from the building to newsmen.

She also alleged that the APC filled forms without passport photographs, books containing names of people with phone numbers and many envelopes containing passport photographs of people were also recovered.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that operatives of the service raided the building at No. 10, Bola Ajibola St., Ikeja, Lagos state, on Nov. 24, 2014, following a tip-off.

"We suspect that there was an elaborate and well articulated plan to inflate the party’s membership data as well as hack into INEC’s voter registration database,’’ the spokesperson said.

According to her, this was done through the creation of the party’s membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country.

Ogar said that the video of 21 hacking tutorials, ``a temporary voter card, a permanent voter card’’ were also recovered.

"The tutorial video focused on the following areas: How to become a hacker and steps to take to avoid detection in the process of hacking web services.

"Steps and procedures of system hacking, passwords cracking, decrypting, escalating access privileges and creating backdoors to servers,’’ she said.

Ogar also said that the tutorial clearly explained how to evade security of database such as ``Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), firewalls and other measures put in place to deter backers’’.

She said the video also outlined ways to identify vulnerabilities in systems and how to cleverly drop a USB flash drive in a target establishment.

She alleged that the drive, when plugged into any commuter, could transmit ``malicious codes enough to gain access into and compromise the entire system of the target organisation’’.

"The video explains how to hack into the systems of media houses with the aim of broadcasting fake stories or headlines,’’ she said.

Ogar said that suspects arrested in connection with the raid had been charged to court, while investigation had begun.

She promised to update the public with further developments.

Responding to questions, Ogar said the service had written to the security agencies whose personnel were found on the APC register to investigate their involvement and take necessary actions. (NAN)