Census 2023: NPC denies report that its server was hacked

The National Population Commission, NPC, has denied report that its server was hacked, resulting in the, “postponement of the LGA-level training of the Supervisors and Enumerators for the 2023 Population and Housing Census.”

A staff of the Commission and Comptroller of Chanchaga Local Government Area in Niger State, Mr. Sanusi Maigida, had claimed that the NPC server was hacked, blaming it on the postponement of Local Government Area-level training of the functionaries.

The Commission in a statement this morning, Monday April 24, said: “Mr. Maigida has limited knowledge about the NPC server or its workability. He acted without directive and authorization from the Commission's Headquarters in Abuja and currently facing disciplinary action for such embarrassing misinformation.”

The statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, NPC, Isiaka Yahaya PhD, noted: “For record purposes, the Commission wishes to state that its server is solidly intact and ready to be deployed for the upcoming 2023 Population and Housing Census exercise. As part of measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data for the 2023 Census, we have implemented comprehensive security measures to safeguard our servers, applications, and IT infrastructure. We deployed state-of-the-art technologies and industry best practices to protect our systems from potential security threats.

“These security measures include robust firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, regular security audits, encryption protocols, and multi- factor authentication for privileged accounts. We have also implemented strict access controls and user privileges and conducted continuous systems to detect and mitigate any potential vulnerabilities or incidents in real time.

“Accordingly, we wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the 2023 Population and Housing Census is absolutely guaranteed. The Commission is committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection. and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population.

“Similarly, the Commission wishes to set the record straight on the recent mission of the NPC Chairman, Hon. Nasir Isa Kwarra to the United Nations. The mission was to attend the 56th Session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development where the Chairman presented Nigeria's statement on "Population and Development at the global event and has since returned to the country to continue the NPC's preparations towards the conduct of the first digital and green Census in Nigeria. Over the years, it has been the standard practice for the Chairman of the Commission to attend the annual event on Population and Development in line with the mandate of NPC as the coordinating agency on population matters in Nigeria.

“Consequently, the public is advised to disregard the false statement trending online about the hacking of the Commission's server and the subsequent travel of the NPC Chairman to restore the purported hacked server. We will continue to update the populace on developments regarding the 2023 Population and Housing Census as events unfold. We urge everyone to support the Commission to ensure a secure and successful 2023 Census exercise.”

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