On Friday, MainOne announced an “external incident” had cut its Atlantic Ocean cable system. They attributed the likely cause to seabed seismic activity and plan to gather more data during repair. Kayode Adegoke, the Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, stated that the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in Nigeria refuted allegations of a database breach due to an undersea cable cut, which caused disruptions in the services of banks and telecom operators.
The commission reassured Nigerians of data security, despite reports of a potential breach by XpressVerify. Adding further reassurance, they emphasized their commitment to safeguarding data integrity and privacy. “We are grateful to our media partners and whistleblowers for bringing this to our attention”. The statement assures Nigerians that their data in the National identity database remains secure and uncompromised.
NIMC’s Director-General, Abisoye Coker-Odusote, promptly launched an investigation into potential licensing agreement violations. She confirmed robust security measures protect citizens’ National Identification Number and personal data.
The NIMC reiterated its steadfast commitment to protecting, securing, and responsibly managing the data entrusted to it. The commission pledged to uphold integrity, maintain public trust, and ensure accountability in its operations.
Relatedly, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) stated that repair teams are addressing the undersea cable cut, causing equipment faults and internet disruptions. The West Africa Cable System, MainOne, and ACE sea cables, crucial for telecommunications data, suffered outages, causing connectivity issues regionally.
The incident adversely affected data and fixed telecom services in multiple West African nations, including Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire. In a statement, the NCC announced that damaged cable operators had begun repairs, gradually restoring internet services.
In the West Coast route from Europe, cable companies such as the West African Cable System (WACS) and African Coast to Europe (ACE) have encountered faults. Meanwhile, SAT3 and MainOne are currently experiencing downtime. Cuts around the Red Sea affected undersea cables Seacom, EIG, and AAE1, leading to service degradation across Europe-East Africa routes. The NCC cited service provider network issues for disruptions in Internet access and speed across Nigeria and West Africa.
