Ethical Hacker and Cybersecurity Expert, Yunus Oyetunde Clears Air On FIJ Reports On Nigeria Police Website
Says SSL Certificate Is Only A Recommendation, Not An Indication Of A Secured Website
The cybersecurity expert and ethical hacker, Yunus Oyetunde (Coy Emerald), has responded to reports released by FIJ Nigeria on the Nigeria Police Website.
Yunus Oyetunde, who is an Apple Honoree and CEO of O-range Cyber Security Service, reacted in a post published on his official Facebook handle.
He wrote:
“The use of SSL certificates is only a recommendation and not an indication of a secured website!
“Earlier today, Monday, April 15, 2024, I woke up to see a report shared by FIJ Nigeria regarding the security status of one of the Nigerian law enforcement officials subdomains (NPF web portal) with the claim that the mentioned subdomain is unsafe and violates guidelines stipulated by the National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA Nigeria for not having an “SSL certificate.”
“While I commend the FIJ reporter for sharing this important message, this is a good safety reminder for all those in the ICT departments of the federal government of Nigeria-owned assets to pay more attention to the security part of their digital infrastructures by regularly conducting penetration testing for both their networks and web applications.
“As an independent security researcher, I found this article shared by the FIJ interesting, but it is important to make this clarification for the general public that the “presence of the SSL certificate” has never indicated or determined that a website is safe and secure, and contrary to what the FIJ has said, the fact is that,
If a website does not have an SSL certificate, this doesn’t indicate that its users are giving away their personal information to phishers and cybercriminals.
“A website that uses an SSL certificate can still be unsafe, just like a Facebook account with a blue tick or badge can still be owned by a cybercriminal!
“Dear members of the public,
Please know that even if a website shows a padlocked icon (i.e., has an SSL certificate), this doesn’t mean that such a website is safe and could not be a fraudulent website, so always be careful and think twice before sharing your confidential information with any random website, and always remember that even a website whose url address begins with “https” can be a phishing website.
“Side note: The only person who can tell if a web application is safe or not is a security researcher, i.e., an ethical hacker, and I urge both Nigerian developers and web owners to consider working with the ethical hackers in Nigeria to improve the security of their web applications.
“I wish everyone safe use of the internet.
“With Safety,
Yunus Damilare Oyetunde
Security Researcher/EthicalHacker”
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