APC attempted to hack into INEC’s data base, says DSS

Lai Mohammed

THE Department of State Security (DSS) has alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC) attempted to hack into the data base of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with the intention of disrupting the electoral process.

DSS Spokesperson Marilyn Ogar, who briefed reporters in Abuja yesterday, also alleged that the party had a number of serving security agents as its registered members.

She added that the APC also did multiple and underage registration.

Ogar, who did not reveal the names of the affected security workers, said the agents comprised those from the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Federal Road Safety Corps among others.

The DSS, in November, broke into APC’s data centre located at No. 10, Bola Ajibola Street, Ikeja, Lagos, where workers, documents and computers were carted away by armed operatives.

But, Ogar stated that after investigation, the DSS suspected that there was an elaborate and well-articulated plan by the party to inflate its membership data through the creation of party membership forms and cards to match INEC’s voters register across the country.

The statement said: “One of the hard drives recovered from the building contained a video of twenty-one (21) hacking tutorials.

“The content of 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 servers; steps and procedures of system hacking, passwords cracking, decrypting, escalating access privileges, and creating backdoors to servers.

“It also explicitly explained how to evade security of databases such as Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), firewalls and other measures put in place to deter hackers.

“The video also outlined ways to identify vulnerabilities in systems and how to surreptitiously drop a USB flash drive in a target establishment, which when plugged into any computer, transmits malicious codes enough to gain access into and compromise the entire system of the target organisation; and

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

“It was also discovered that the APC registered under-aged persons, including several infants and babies as members of the party. We know that Article 9.1 of the APC Party Constitution expressly says: ‘membership of the party shall be open to any citizen of Nigeria who has attained the age of 18 years and accepts the aims and objectives of the party.

“The APC had multiple registration of individuals in multiples of 16, 12, and 10 and several foreigners were also registered as its members

“Also, the APC filled forms without passport photographs, and have books containing names of people with their phone numbers and several envelopes containing passport photographs of various individuals.”