To unblocking SIM cards, require NIN-SIM linkage - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) wishes to officially inform telecoms consumers, whose Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards are barred from making calls, that affected SIMs will not be unbarred by the service providers until they are linked with the National Identification Numbers (NINs) of the SIM holders.

This information has become necessary in view of a viral web link (https://bit.ly/NCC-Sim-Unbar-Gov-Ng) being circulated on social media and on some websites. 

2019: INEC delivers 123,848 voters cards to Plateau State

ITREALMS:

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has delivered some 123,848 permanent voters cards to Plateau State INEC, reports ITRealms.

According to INEC, reports from its field officers have revealed a smooth exercise in all the 17 Local Government Area in Plateau State.

The Head of Publicity and Voter Education Department in Plateau INEC, Osaretin Imahiyereobo, told journalists in Jos that the distribution of the PVCs commenced in the 17 LGAs on May 21.

According to him, the PVCs were for those voters who registered with INEC between April and December 2017.

He said, “The exercise was flagged off at  the Jos South Local Government office of INEC by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mallam Hussaini Halilu Pai. This was followed by the monitoring of the  exercise in Barkin Ladi and Riyom LGAs by the National Commissioner supervising Plateau State,  Prof. Anthonia Simbine.

“A breakdown of the PVCs received in Plateau State shows that Jos South LGA has 21,045, followed by Jos North with 15, 113; Wase, 11,118; Shendam, 10,990. Jos East LGA has the least number of PVCs.

“Reports from the various LGAs is mixed with response in the  collection of the PVCs. While reports from Jos North, Jos South and Wase LGAs showed initial enthusiasm in the number of PVCs collected, other LGAs has not shown marked improvement.

“So far Jos North has the highest rate of collection with 625, followed by Jos South, 520; Kanam, 485. Other available figures are Quan'Pan, 143, Riyom, 20, Langtang North, 96, Wase, 44, Shendam 144, Barkin Ladi, 300 and Pankshin, 36.

“Apart from the distribution of the new cards, others who registered before the 2015 elections are also collecting their cards. Other CVR activities such as registration, transfers, corrections and replacements are going on simultaneously.“

Uboshe Uboshe/GEE

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Ntel set to launch recharge cards, warms up for national roaming

ITREALMS:

The Nigeria Telecommunications Company (NatCom) trading with the name ntel has concluded plans to launch its brand of recharge cards into the nation's telecommunication market, reports ITRealms.

Ntel, ITRealms gathered is gearing up for the formal launch of its national roaming services to boost customers’ ability to optimize experiences.

This is coming barely three years since it commenced operation after the acquisition of NITEL from the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

Disclosing this in Lagos at the weekend during the month of March breakfast with CEO hosted by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) at Ladi Lawal House, Alausa Ikeja, the chief executive officer of ntel, Mr. Ernest ‘Dabo Akinlola, said the mobile company is introducing the physical recharge card to boost its brand visibility which does not any way stop the virtual recharge the operator debut with.

He also said that ntel is keen in launch its national roaming service by next month of April 2018.

Akinlola, accompanied by director of external relations Mr. Osondu Nwokolo among others, head marketing, Mr. Jide Mafolabomi and Chief Finance Officer, Mr. Ernest Obhulime, assured ntel subscribers which he said have been doubled in the last six months due to new vigor, that they are leveraging their NITEL assets especially the SAT 3.

He equally affirmed the plan by ntel to launch a national roaming service on the network to afford subscribers on its network to optimize the offerings.

According to him, ntel has advanced national roaming agreement with 9mobile while MTN deal is already on the table and is receiving adequate attention as stated the time of going to the press.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Consequences of unregistered SIM cards await operators says NCC

ITRealms:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has insisted that there are consequences for any telecommunications operator in the country harbouring unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, reports ITRealms.

NCC revealed this via its Director Public Affairs (DPA), Mr. Tony Ojobo, who spoke at the Special Independence Edition of the annual Conference of Directors and Heads of Public Relations organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) at the Sheraton Hotel Lagos with the theme: Trackable Identity and Integrity in Business and National Reputation.

Dwelling on ‘Trackable Identity and the ease of doing business in Nigeria’ Mr. Ojobo noted the long-standing position of the Commission on tolerance of unregistered SIM cards by telecom service providers on their networks.

Ojobo also warned those buying  pre-registered SIM cards from persons and businesses that had done multiple SIM Cards registration in order to resell later, stressing that the burden of this practice lies with the Mobile Network Operators (MNO) who are expected to deactivate SIM cards that do not carry verifiable identities, “because operators are under obligations to have the identities of all callers on their respective networks.”

For Ojobo, trackable identity is the ability to identify an individual operating or transacting business in the cyberspace, noting that within Nigerian environment, “some identity objects are bereft of digital object identifiers, thus posing serious challenge to identifying someone transacting business in the cyberspace.”

He explained that the SIM cards registration policy was instituted by the Federal Government as a strategic response to the challenges of identity tracking, especially in the context of kidnappings, terrorism and other forms of criminality in the society globally.

Other measures of identity tracking in Nigeria, he said, include the establishment of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the NIMC Act 2007 and other extant policies and programmes such as the issuance of International travel passports, Bank Verification Number (BVN), Driver's license, Voter's card, the activities of the National Population Commission and the SIM Cards registration programme supervised by the NCC.

Every SIM card, he said, is a subscription on a network and NCC has over 130 million records being verified, and all of that will be transferred later to NIMC as the nation's main custodian of identity management in Nigeria.

“We all need to be able to identify those we are dealing with especially in the cyberspace to reduce mistrust and fraud as well as to improve the integrity of transactions. The total experience of these practices will also help in the fight against economic and financial crimes,” he declared, maintaining that increase in the level of ICT interface and reduction in the instances of human, physical interface could reduce financial corruption.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Your SIM Card remains secure says G&D

ITRealms:

One of the leading vendors of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards, Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has reaffirmed that SIM cards remain secure as far as security of mobile services is concerned, reports ITRealms.

G&D ITRealms reports has supplied SIM cards to over 350 mobile network operators worldwide and have played an important role in the stipulation and implementation of SIM card security standards for over two decades.

Member, Management Board and Head of the Mobile Security business unit at G&D, Stefan Auerbach, told ITRealms in a press statement that SIM card is so secure that in the case revealed recently, even intelligence services preferred to steal the key rather than attack the SIM card.

ITRealms gathered that the secure authentication of the mobile phone user on the mobile network is the main function of the SIM card.

G&D says it employs the highest security procedures and processes.

"Until now G&D has no knowledge that SIM card keys were stolen. Immediately after the attacks were brought to light we did, however, introduce additional measures to review the established security processes together with our customers," said Auerbach.

Reacting to a recent media report on targeted key theft in SIM cards by American and British intelligence services, G&D official told ITRealms that the smart card technology is characterized by secure hardware and software that G&D have decisively helped develop and continually improve from the very start. The SIM card itself was also not targeted in the now known attack.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) @G&D +Giesecke & Devrient Australasia

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NDLEA arrests dual identity man with 107 ATM cards

ITRealms:

Men of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) recently arrested in Lagos, a man with dual identity who was in position of 107 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards belonging to Citi Bank, reports ITRealms.

The Lagos Airport commander, NDLEA, Mr. Hamza Umar, told ITRealms that the suspect was arrested after the discovery by his men during the outward screening of Turkish Airline passengers to Istanbul, Turkey, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.

The suspect, 36, he said, goes with two international passports bearing his photographs but with different names.

“He had a Nigerian passport with the name Funsho Oladimeji Babatunde and a Turkish passport with the name Kosar Kursat both bearing his photographs. The cards found in his luggage are 68 Citi Interswitch Master Cards and 39 Citi Interswitch Visa cards,” Hamza revealed.

The suspect, he said, had confessed to being a native of Iwo town in Kwara State, resides in Surulere, Lagos and is an Ordinary National Diploma (OND) graduate on Economics, from the Kwara State Polytechnic, allegedly told his interrogators he was taking the cards to a friend in Turkey.

“My friend in Turkey called me that I should help in sending the cards to him in Istanbul, Turkey.

“When I collected the cards in Lagos, I kept them in my bag but during search, the officer saw the cards and took me for interrogation. I am an OND graduate of Economics at the Kwara State Polytechnic”, he explained.

Reacting, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, directed the transfer of the suspect to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further investigation as the offence was an indication of fraudulent activities.

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