Victor Ezeja
Following permutations about the vulnerability of the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) to be deployed for the 2023 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission, (INEC), has assured Nigerians that it will not be hacked.
INEC Deputy Director of ICT, Dr. Lawrence Bayode, gave the assurance while appearing on the Channels TV Sunrise Daily on Wednesday morning.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelBayode said that the electoral body has taken all necessary steps to secure the system from cyber invaders and also taken care of all the issues relating to functionality of the device during polls.
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“I want to say again that we have done everything to ensure that the BVAS is not compromised. The data on the BVAS will be secured.
He said, “After the poll, when the data is transmitted to our backend server, the data in transit will be secured; and by the time the data gets to our backend server, the data will also be secured there.
“We have looked at the machine, and we looked at a lot of things. As I said earlier, you cannot build such a system, and you won’t fortify the system to solidify it.”
He noted that cyber criminals and those who want rig the elections have been making efforts to compromise the system but definitely not succeed, as every measure has been taken to that the system is highly secured.
“Whether we like it or not, people will try a lot to beat this system. But the more they try, the more they meet a brick wall.
“I can say categorically that we have taken care of every surface attack vulnerability on the system, and we have also tried our best to ensure that the system cannot be hacked into on election day. And I can say again that BVAS cannot be compromised.”
INEC had used BVAS device in Anambra, Osun and Ekiti governorship elections, with varying degrees of experience in terms of its functionality. The commission had in each case consistently maintained its resolve to improve on the technology to serve better during future elections.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
