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Equipment manufacturer, Lenovo, has disclosed several vendor vulnerabilities in some of its products, which it said could lead to information disclosure, privilege escalation, and denial of service.
The vulnerabilities primarily affect Lenovo products, such as Desktop, Desktop-All in One, Hyperscale, Lenovo Notebook, Smart Office, Storage, ThinkAgile, ThinkPad, ThinkServer, ThinkStation, and ThinkSystem.Â
The Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT), in its recent advisory, rated the probability of the vulnerability as high with an equally high damage potential. It, therefore, urged users of affected products to update their firmware.
The advisory cited the Lenovo report, first published in the second week of September, indicating that the vulnerabilities are caused by flaws in the System Management Interrupt (SMI) Set BIOS Password SMI Handler, other systems used to configure platform settings over Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), and a buffer overflow flaw in WMI SMI Handler.Â
“Successful exploitation of the vulnerabilities could allow an authenticated local attacker to bypass security restrictions, gain elevated privileges and execute arbitrary code on the targeted system. The attacker could also send a specially crafted request to the targeted user to gain sensitive information, which could result in unauthorized Information disclosure, privilege escalation and denial of service on the targeted system,” it said.
According to NCC-CSIRT, the solution to addressing the vulnerabilities is for users to update their system firmware to the newer version(s) indicated for their product model.
The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecoms sector and as they may affect telecoms consumers and citizens at large. The CSIRT also works collaboratively with the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), established by the Federal Government to reduce the volume of future computer risk incidents by preparing, protecting, and securing Nigerian cyberspace to forestall attacks, and problems or related events.
NCC, NLRC inaugurate committee to strengthen consumer protection
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) have set up a committee to work towards the protection of the interest of telecoms consumers against malpractices that may attend mobile lotteries in the country.
The committee, which was inaugurated at the NCC Head Office in Abuja, on Thursday, was tasked with the responsibility of articulating measures to address mutual regulatory issues, including the review of revenue-sharing formula between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and lottery operators.
NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), Barrister Adeleke Adewolu, who presided over the meeting comprising senior staff of the two agencies, recalled fondly previous engagements between the agencies and stated that the committee was important in order to review and update an NCC-NLRC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed on the August 6, 2018, but has now expired.
The ECSM said the commission is committed to regulatory collaboration and strategic partnerships and has carefully reviewed NLRC’s requests and is convinced that both organisations can conclusively address issues and other concerns that have been identified in the operation of lotteries in the telecom industry.
“We expect that the Joint Committee of senior members of staff in both organisations will work closely to develop a collaborative framework to progressively improve gaming service delivery for telecoms consumers and further accelerate holistic development in Nigeria’s digital economy,” Adewolu stated.
In addition, the ECSM reiterated that the committee is expected to articulate a new MoU to address issues around revenue sharing between MNOs and lottery operators, the need to review and recommend a workable model for addressing the needs of both organisations, and present informed recommendations to deepen regulatory collaboration between the two regulatory agencies.
“Given the strong professional pedigree of the members of this Joint Committee, I have no doubt that they will meet and even exceed the expectations of the managements of both the NCC and the NLRC, and I wish you all success in this task,” Adewolu added.
Speaking on behalf of the Director-General, NLRC, Lanre Gbajabiamila, the Director, Legal Services, NLRC, Olayemi Ajayi, expressed her organisation’s commitment to improving revenue generation from the lottery industry while appreciating NCC for being receptive to inter-organisational collaborations.
Ajayi reiterated the need for renewal of the expired MoU with amendments to accommodate new provisions that will be favourable to stakeholders and fast track the development of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The NLRC is working tirelessly to ameliorate its functions and service delivery to stakeholders. Therefore, this renewed collaboration with NCC will help for better and efficient service delivery by both agencies,” Ajayi assured.