The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) had on Monday raised an alarm over the existence of another hacking group orchestrating cyberespionage (cyber spying) targeting telecoms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the African telecoms space.
BizWatch Nigeria recalls that Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, NCC’s spokesman, via a statement explained that the notification became necessary to keep stakeholders in the country’s telecoms sector informed, educated, and protected.
“An Iranian hacking group known as Lyceum (also known as Hexane, Siamesekitten, or Spirlin) has been reported to be targeting telecoms, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and Ministries of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Africa with upgraded malware in a recent politically motivated attacks oriented in cyberespionage,” Adinde said in the statement.
“Information about this cyber-attack is contained in the latest advisory issued by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT). The ngCERT rated the probability and damage level of the new malware as high.
“According to the advisory, the hacking group is known to be focused on infiltrating the networks of telecoms companies and ISPs. Between July and October 2021, Lyceum was implicated in attacks against ISPs and telecoms organisations in Israel, Morocco, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.”