NIMC denies allegations of citizens’ data privacy breach

…says anyverify.com, idfinder.com.ng, Verify.Ng/sign in, trustyonline.com unauthorised sites

Blessing Taiwo

Following the findings of a non-profit organisation, Paradigm Initiative, on the exposure of sensitive data of Nigerians, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has assured that the citizenry’s data has not been compromised.

This is as the commission denied affiliation with anyverify.com, a website discovered by Paradigm Initiative to be displaying sensitive information of registrants of National Identity Number (NIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) and more for only N100 per request.

In a release by the NIMC Head of Corporate Communications, Kayode Adegoke issued on Saturday, Nigerians were urged to disregard any claims or services phishing websites offer.

The commission charged the public to refrain from giving their information to such websites as they are potentially fraudulent, noting that data provided by the public on such platforms are gathered and stored to build the data services they illegally provide.

“The following websites: idfinder.com.ng; Verify.Ng/sign in, championtech.com.ng, trustyonline.com, and anyverify.com are data harvesters not authorised by NIMC to access or manage sensitive data.

“Moreover, licensed partners or vendors are not authorised to scan or store NIN slips but to verify NINs through approved channels.

“The Commission is currently working closely with security operatives to apprehend these elements masquerading as online vendors, and they will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” it assured.

The national body promised to keep up with its responsibility of providing secure and reliable identity management and upholding the highest level of security for systems and databases.

“The commission’s infrastructure meets the stringent ISO 27001:2013 Information Security Management System Standard, with annual recertification and strict compliance with the Nigerian Data Protection Law.

“The Commission reaffirms its commitment to upholding ethical standards in data protection in line with federal government directives and data privacy regulations,” it stated.