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Yanluowang Ransomware: NCC-CSIRT urges stronger security measures

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Nasiru Yusuf

The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) has urged organisations to adopt stronger cybersecurity measures.

 

KANO FOCUS reports that these measures include ensuring that organisations’ employees use strong, unique passwords for every account and enabling multi-factor authentication (2FA) wherever it is supported to prevent ransomware attacks as well as advising organisations to ensure regular systems backup.

The NCC-CSIRT’s warning contained in its advisory of August 12, 2022, came after the Yanluowang threat actors gained access to Cisco’s network using an employee’s stolen credentials after hijacking the employee’s personal Google account containing credentials synced from their browser.

A statement sent to KANO FOCUS by NCC’s Director Public Affairs Reuben Muoka on Saturday said Ransomware is a malware designed to deny a user or organization access to files on their computer until they pay the attackers.

Cisco reported the security incident on its corporate network but said it did not identify any impact on its business although the threat actors had published a list of files from this security incident on the dark web on August 10.

NCC-CSIRT estimated potential damage from the incident to be critical while predicting that successful exploitation of the ransomware will result in ransomware deployment to compromise computer systems, sensitive products and customers’ data theft and exposure, as well as huge financial loss to organizations by incurring significant indirect costs and could also mar their reputations.

The team said, “The first step to preventing ransomware attacks is to ensure that employees are using strong, unique passwords for every account and enabling multi-factor authentication (2FA) wherever it’s supported.”

It further disclosed that “In response to the attack, Cisco has immediately implemented a company-wide password reset. Users of Cisco products should ensure a successful password reset.

“As a precaution, the company has also created two Clam AntiVirus signatures (Win.Exploit.Kolobko-9950675-0 and Win.Backdoor.Kolobko-9950676-0) to disinfect any potentially compromised assets. Clam AntiVirus Signatures (or ClamAV) is a multi-platform antimalware toolkit that can detect a wide range of malware and viruses.

“User education is critical in thwarting this type of attacks or any similar attacks, including ensuring that employees are aware of the legitimate channels through which support personnel will contact users, so that employees can identify fraudulent attempts to obtain sensitive information. Organisations should ensure regular systems backup,” the advisory urged.

The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.

The CSIRT also works collaboratively with the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), established by the Federal Government to reduce the volume of future computer risks incidents by preparing, protecting and securing the Nigerian cyberspace to forestall attacks, problems or related events.

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Dangote donates N15billion to Kano varsity, offers Automatic jobs to best graduating students  

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Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim

 

Group President of the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a whooping N15billion to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil (ADUSTECH), Kano State. 

 

KANO FOCUS reports that. Alhaji Dangote, who is also the Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) was reappointed the Chancellor of the University.

 

In his speech at the 5th convocation ceremony, he said the University must be repositioned to lead the race of producing cutting edge research and highly skilled manpower that meets the requirements of market demands, industries and real problem solvers in the Nigerian society.

He said: “It is in this vein that I wish to use this opportunity to announce the launch of the 5-year Development plan which I envision for this institution.

 

“Over the next 5 years, we will commit the sum of N15 billion to the following projects: the design and construction of additional student hostels; the design and construction of a world class Engineering Lab; the design and construction of a world class multipurpose computer lab -open to all students of the institution which will also be equipped with 24-hour internet access to support academic research and the installation of a mini-solar plant to support access to power on campus.”

 

He added that: “We also undertake to design and construct a befitting Senate building that will house the administration of this institution. Finally, we will also reserve post-NYSC employment slots for the best performing graduates in Engineering and other related courses that form part of our areas of interest at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Plant and Dangote Cement Plants.”

 

Alhaji Dangote said the funding for such an institution places a significant burden on the government, which is why, through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, it was able to offset the University’s electricity bill to ease the strain on their finances.

 

“Additionally, to support the infrastructural drive of the University, we built two blocks of Male and Female Hostels with 500 bed spaces each.

“We also ensured the availability of electricity in a specialized University like ours for continuous teaching, learning and research, via the connection of the University to a 33KVA line, and provided a 2.5 MVA transformer and six (6) step-down transformers. This, I believe, has gone a long way in solving the energy needs of the University.”

 

Dangote therefore congratulated the vision of those who dreamt of the institution 25 years ago.

“An institution that began with a student population of 88, today has a population of more than 21,877 students and this combined convocation has a total of about 18,000 graduates. This is indeed a milestone,” he added.

 

In his address, Governor Abba Kabiru Yusuf of Kano State commended Alhaji Dangote for contributing financially and morally towards the development of the University, adding that, “all of us will continue to remember you as a visionary and African illustrious industrialist.”

 

The University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Musa Tukur Yakasa said 18,000 students were being celebrated during the convocation ceremony, having graduated from the university in the last ten years to date.

 

Business mogul Chief Arthur Eze, founder of Max Air and billionaire Alhaji Dahiru Barau Mangal, Senior Advocate Ahmad Adeniyi Raji, and oil magnate and founder of Amasco Oil Al-Mustapha Ado bagged honorary doctorate degrees.

 

The VC said the University has recorded significant strides in its academic journey to greater heights, including program accreditation and a mathematical digital model designed by a university product, Mahmoud Mubarak, for measuring deforestation density.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BUK Achieves 100% Success in 2024 NUC Accreditation: 53 Programmes Fully Approved

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Bayero University, Kano (BUK) has recorded a landmark academic achievement following the release of the results from the 2024 accreditation exercise conducted by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

In what has been described as a resounding endorsement of the University’s academic standards and quality assurance framework, all 53 academic programmes presented for evaluation were granted full accreditation or accredited status.

The accreditation, conducted between October and November 2024, covered undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across key faculties including Administration, Agriculture, Allied Health Sciences, Arts, Computing, Education, Engineering, Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Social Sciences.

According to a statement signed by the University Registrar, Haruna Aliyu, the development affirms BUK’s unwavering commitment to academic excellence, curriculum innovation, and sustained infrastructural and faculty development.

“This milestone is a testimony to the quality of education and institutional governance at BUK. It validates our position as one of Nigeria’s premier universities,” the statement said.

Key Highlights:

Administration Faculty recorded full accreditation across 13 programmes including the Master of Accounting and Financial Management, MBA, and Islamic Banking & Finance.

Agriculture, Medicine, Pharmacy, and all Engineering programmes received full accreditation, reinforcing the University’s strength in science-based disciplines.

• The Education Faculty had a sweeping success with 14 programmes earning full accreditation.

• Courses in Arts, Social Sciences, Computing, and Science were all rated “Full” by the NUC.

This success is more than academic—it means that all current and prospective students of these programmes can be assured that their education meets the highest national standards. It also ensures the continued recognition of their certificates for employment, postgraduate studies, and participation in national youth service.

Strengthening Nigeria’s Higher Education Landscape

The Registrar expressed appreciation to the National Universities Commission for its rigorous evaluation process and acknowledged the dedication of BUK’s Deans, Heads of Departments, academic staff, and support personnel who worked tirelessly to meet and surpass the benchmarks.

“This achievement is not an end but a motivation to continue pushing the boundaries of knowledge, research, and community engagement. We remain committed to nurturing leaders and innovators who will contribute meaningfully to Nigeria and the world,” he added.

As BUK celebrates this landmark, the University is inviting stakeholders, prospective students, parents, and the global academic community to partner in its journey of growth and excellence.

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Governor Yusuf Pays Over 3 Billion for Secondary School Students to Sit for NECO, NABTEB, NBAIS

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Mukhtar Yahya Usman

The Governor of Kano State, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has expended over 3 billion naira for 141,175 (one hundred and forty-one thousand, one hundred and seventy-five) Kano students who passed the 2024 qualifying examinations to sit for this year’s NECO, NABTEB, and NBAIS (2025).

In a statement issued by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Information, Ibrahim Adam, it was noted that the Commissioner for Education, Ali Haruna Makoda, announced to newsmen in Kano that the State Ministry of Education had released the results of the qualifying examinations for secondary school students in Kano.

These students are studying under the Kano State Teachers Service Board and the Science and Technical Schools Board, where 75 percent of them qualified to write the senior school certificate examinations of NABTEB, NECO, and NBAIS (for Arabic students).

Ali Haruna Makoda stated that the students eligible for payment by the Kano State Government under Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf are those who scored five credits and above.

The Commissioner maintained that all secondary school principals and directors should notify their students of their results so that the state government can effect the payment.

The 2025 qualifying exams for NECO, and NABTEB will enable the students to sit for their 2025 examinations required for admission into tertiary education.

Ibrahim Adam, the Special Adviser to Governor Yusuf on Information, said that since the inception of the administration in May 2023, it has settled registration fees for Kano indigent students for NECO, NABTEB, and NBAIS.

The Special Adviser pointed out that apart from settling the fees, Governor Yusuf’s administration has also paid huge outstanding debts for NECO, and NABTEB left behind by former Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje’s administration.

He also said it is part of Governor Yusuf’s declaration of a state of emergency on education and an effort to mitigate the high number of out-of-school children that have bedeviled the state.

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