ALERT: Malware targeting routers, Windows PCs in circulation, NCC warns

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians against two cyberthreats — ‘Lokilocker’ and ‘Botnet’ — which targets Microsoft Windows platforms and specific kind of routers, respectively.

Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC director of public affairs, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

According to the computer security incidents response team (CSIRT) set up by the commission, the cyberthreats were discovered earlier this week.

“The first cyberthreat is a ransomware known as ‘Lokilocker’, which is capable of wiping data from all versions of Windows systems or platforms. It causes data loss, and denial of service (DoS), which reduces user’s productivity,” the statement reads.

“Lokilocker operates by encrypting user files and renders the compromised system useless if the victim does not pay the demanded ransom in time.

“To hide the malicious activity, the ransomware displays a fake window update screen, cancels specific processes and services, and completely disables the task manager, windows error reporting, machine firewall and windows defender of the compromised system.

“Sadly, it also has in-built processes that prevent data recovery as it deletes backup files, shadow copies, and removes system restore points. It also overwrites the user login note and modifies original equipment manufacturer (OEM) information in the registry of the compromised system.

“The second cyberthreat is a Botnet that targets the Microtik version of Routers. As CSIRT revealed, thousands of routers from Microtik which have been found to be vulnerable are being used to constitute what has been named one of the largest botnets in history

“The threat types emanating from the botnet include bypass authentication, data loss, denial of service, remote code execution, sniff password and unauthorised access. These situations result in dangers to victims of this cyber threat including malware distribution, mining cryptocurrency, thereby increasing the use of system resources, remote code execution and data theft.”

The commission advised the public to always have a backup of system data stored offline, and also be careful with downloads and email attachments.

For routers, NCC advised users to “update or apply the latest patches to their routers early, set strong router passwords, disable the administration interface of the routers from the public, stay away from illegitimate or cracked software versions of legitimate applications, and use decent antivirus software with in-built web-filtering, and apply the latest patches as soon as they arrive”.