Banks, Govts on Red Alert as Fraudsters' Attack on Biometrics Increase, BVNs, NINs, Others Under Threat

• A new report has revealed a new way fraudsters develop new ways to hack biometrics across the world
• An intelligence report says that biometric attacks have risen in the last 12 months
• The report said fraudsters find ways to clone NINs, BVNs, and driver's licenses, among others

Nigerians and other governments worldwide have been warned about the rising cases of attacks on biometrics worldwide.

An intelligence report from iProov on the biometric threat revealed that in the last year, there had been a 149% increase in threat actors using emulators to attack mobile platforms, stating there has been a 295% increase in the new face swaps.

Firm warns of increased attacks on NINs, other important biometrics

The Guardian reports that the CEO of iiDENTIFii, Gur Geva, iProov's partner in Africa, said biometric attacks continue to increase in volume, intensity, and complexity. Geva said companies need to understand the anatomy of biometric attacks.

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According to the report, a critical challenge remains for businesses and governments to find new ways to unlock new ways of understanding that the person on the other side of the screen is human and is who they claim to be.

Banks, financial institutions, and other platforms in Nigeria demand biometrics such as BVNs, driver's licenses, National IDs, NIN, and SIM card registration.

Reports say that these platforms and biometrics are for easy identification and curbing of criminal activities in Nigeria.

Bank staff involved in fraud in 2022

The report said that about N3.62 billion in fraud happened via ATMs, PoS, mobile and other electronic channels, and cash in the Q2 of 2022.

Financial Institutions Training Centre reports that bank personnel carried out all cash theft reported in that period.

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NCC-CSIRT Issues Advisories to protect Nigerians against Threat Actors

Per the iProov report, biometrics such as the iris and retina gives a deeper way of verification but have limitations in liveness as they cannot bind digital identity to a real person in motion.

The report said the technology used to capture these biometrics might be accessible.

FG warns as fraudsters develop new methods to hack bank customers’ account in one click

Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), a Federal Government agency, has raised concerns about increased bank fraud cases.

To address this issue, the commission has cautioned bank customers to remain alert and prioritize the security of their tokens to protect their funds.

The NDIC said bank customers should not display their banking details to anyone and ensure that their debit card numbers and Card Verification Value (CVV) were not exposed to people.

Source: Legit.ng