VPN May Expose Bank Accounts, Data To Hackers, APC warns
By Jide Orintunsin – Abuja
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has warned usage of Virtual Private Network (VPN) in accessing social media contents may expose users to cybercrimes and heinous activities of criminal hackers.
It also said warned that bank accounts and data of users of the communication platform are vulnerable to hackers.
These alerts were contained in a statement by the Secretary APC Caretaker Extra-Ordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC), Senator John James Akpanduoehehe on Tuesday in Abuja.
Akpanduoehehe said the warning became necessary due to decision of some individuals to access Twitter at all costs following the suspension of its operations in the country.
The statement reads: “All Progressives Congress (APC) alerts Nigerians of the many risks involved in accessing contents, especially social media using the Virtual Private Network (VPN) which is vulnerable to the heinous activities of criminal hackers who can steal data and money in bank accounts.”
The party warned legitimate private and public entities operating in the country to avoid the many dangers of exposing themselves to cybercrimes through the use of VPN which is not adequately secured.
“This advisory is necessary because despite the massive compliance by Nigerians to the federal government’s suspension of Twitter operations in the country, some individuals in the country have resorted to VPN to assess Twitter whose unwholesome activities were detrimental to peace and public order in the country.
“Those using the VPN are advised to desist in their own interests because of its risks, which include data theft, illegal access to strategic company documents and possible economic espionage.
“The APC emphasises that VPN users expose their devices to vulnerabilities because the network allows third parties access to personal data and changes user location to another country which compromises data integrity. Your record can be traced to another country that is not yours, with all the risks that entails.
“Many individuals and organisations using VPN have lost their investments after compromising the security of their devices.
“The APC strongly advises that Nigerians should avoid installing or using VPN to access social networking sites in order to protect their privacy and security online. This is in our individual and collective interest,” he said.
