INEC vows action over unauthorised access to voter records

The Independent National Electoral Commission has vowed to take appropriate legal action against any person found culpable in the alleged unauthorised access and disclosure of voter information obtained during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise.

The commission disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Kudu Haruna.

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The statement followed allegations circulating on social media and in some sections of the media claiming that INEC’s voter registration database had been breached and information relating to a candidate in recent party primaries in the Federal Capital Territory was unlawfully accessed and published.

According to the commission, preliminary findings from its internal investigation have ruled out any external hacking of its Information and Communication Technology infrastructure.

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Haruna explained that authorised registration officers participating in the CVR exercise were granted controlled access to specific components of the system strictly for voter registration, transfer requests and updates of voter records.

He said the commission’s audit trail had identified the user account through which a voter record was accessed and subsequently disclosed without authorisation.

“The Commission takes the security, confidentiality and integrity of voter data with the utmost seriousness and remains committed to transparency, institutional integrity and the protection of voters’ personal information,” he said.

Haruna stated that relevant personnel had been questioned and that all departments connected to the incident were cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

He added that the commission was examining all technical, administrative and operational factors surrounding the matter to establish individual responsibility and determine whether any internal access-control protocols were violated.

The INEC commissioner maintained that the incident did not amount to a compromise of the commission’s wider voter registration infrastructure or the personal data of more than 90 million registered voters.

He also disclosed that the Department of State Services had commenced a separate investigation into the matter, adding that INEC would continue to cooperate with security agencies.

Haruna urged the public and the media to avoid speculation while investigations continued, assuring that the commission would make its findings public at the conclusion of the probe.

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