NCC Warns Nigerians Against Dangers Of Partaking In TikTok Challenge

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has come out to warn Nigerians against the danger involved in part-taking in the Invisible Challenge on the short-form video hosting service, TikTok.

Naija News reports that the commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) in an advisory revealed that such challenges expose devices to Information-Stealing Malware.

The team revealed that threat actors have taken advantage of a viral TikTok challenge, known as the Invisible Challenge, to disseminate an information-stealing malware known as the WASP (or W4SP) stealer.

The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.

The WASP stealer, they explained, is high in probability with critical damage potential, and that it is a persistent malware hosted on discord that its developer claim is undetectable.

An NCC-CSIRT advisory said “The Invisible Challenge involves wrapping a somewhat transparent body contouring filter around a presumed naked individual. Attackers are uploading videos to TikTok with a link to software that they claim can reverse the filter’s effects.

“Those who click on the link and attempt to download the software, known as “unfilter,” are infected with the WASP stealer. Suspended accounts had amassed over a million views after initially posting the videos with a link. Following the link leads to the “Space Unfilter” Discord server, which had 32,000 members at its peak but has since been removed by its creators.

“Successful installation will allow the malware to harvest keystrokes, screenshots, network activity, and other information from devices where it is installed. It may also covertly monitor user behaviour and harvest Personally Identifiable Information (PII), including names and passwords, keystrokes from emails, chat programs, websites visited, and financial activity. This malware may be capable of covertly collecting screenshots, video recordings, or the ability to activate any connected camera or microphone.”

The Team, however, recommended that some ways to forestall such an attack include avoiding clicking on suspicious links, using anti-malware software on your devices, checking the app tray and removing any apps that you do not remember installing or that are dormant and embracing healthy password hygiene practices such as using a password manager.

The CSIRT also works collaboratively with Nigerian 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.