WhatsApp Encryption: Finding A Balance Between Privacy And Security Challenges In Nigeria

  by Eromose Ileso

WhatsApp

The popular instant messaging service WhatsApp which is owned by Facebook announced on Tuesday that it has introduced end-to-end encryption to messages in it services. 

What this development means in a nutshell is once a message leaves a sender’s device, they are in scrambled or unintelligent form, and only the receiver of that message can decrypt or decode what the message says, thereby excluding the possibility of a third party’s ability to decipher what the message means. Third party here could include law enforcement agents, security officers or even criminals who would now be unable to read such messages when they are intercepted. This encryption also applies to video calls and other file transfers.

This development comes at a time when terrorist organisations worldwide are increasingly looking for ways to beat the sophisticated surveillance and monitoring of their communications by different spy agencies in the Western world. There have been calls by organisations that seek to protect the privacy of vulnerable individuals for more to be done to see that certain communication do not fall into the hands of wrong persons.

However, the new encryption introduced by Whatsapp, a messaging service that has over a billion users worldwide came just after America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) took Apple Corporation to court demanding that the technology giants should design a software that would have enabled them to unlock the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino attackers Syed Farook in order to get more information about the said attack that claimed the lives of 16 persons. 

The phone in question had a password used by the attacker, and inputing the password four times would have led to the information in it to be wiped out. But the FBI wanted a situation where software would have been designed to enable different combinations of password without it leading to the loss of any information.

A United States District Court was set to rule on the matter before the FBI asked for the case to be dropped on the eve of the hearing, because an Israeli company had devised a means to unlock the iPhone, so Apple Corp. was no longer needed, and any ruling from the court would have been overtaken by events.

This was inevitably a dangerous territory that pitted the authorities against a technological giant and in-between was the issue of privacy.

While the advocates of privacy and free speech including the likes of Amnesty International hailed the move by Whatsapp, it is yet another setback in the fight against terrorism in the wider world.

In Nigeria, it is no longer news that terrorism has been vested on its territory by the deadly dark acts of Boko Haram. Besides, Boko Haram whose reign of terror has brought devastation to the North East of Nigeria especially in Borno and Yobe states, there are other criminal gangs that engages in kidnapping, abduction and armed robbery. And virtually these groups, be it terrorist or criminal gangs all engage in the use of technology. They all communicate using these instant messaging service(s).

No doubt with the introduction of Whatsapp end-to-end encryption, it would make it even more difficult for security agents to access the information from these devices with the app thereby denying them of vital information that could have led to the capture of a terrorist or a criminal.

Many of these terrorist organisations and criminal gangs already use cryptic communications to get across information within their groups, but that was informal, these new development has made it formal for such groups to perpetuate acts of terror by sending encrypted messages without having to be noticed by vigilant security organisations. 

What this means is that the larger society would have to pay the price, because if an orchestrated plan to unleash terror is not stopped at its planning stage, it means it is when the acts have been carried out and there are causalities, that is when the authorities would become aware of such development just like the Paris and Brussels attacks as well as the UN Building, Police headquarters and Yanya Motor Park that were bombed by Boko Haram in Abuja.

With the advancement in technology, so also have different groups devised means by which they beat any possible surveillance or monitoring that are put on them by security agencies.

In Nigeria, the country is still however, a distant time away from adequately using technology to fight crime. Instead there is a strong reliance on instinct and raw power to unravel certain mysteries, while on few occasions, intelligence has led to the capture of a criminal or terrorist. 

It is this archaic way of criminal investigation which has led to the various anti-corruption bodies to make arrest at first instance before commencing investigation on the detainee. Whereas in advanced societies, a person would have been undergoing underground investigation without his knowledge, and when they have gathered enough material evidence using both scientific and technological methods, such a person would be arrested and charged on the basis of such evidence.

If continuous encryption of communication will pose a huge problem to security agents in advanced countries when it comes to fighting crime, what does this mean in the fight of crime in Nigeria? 

Ultimately, it would make it even harder to use a method that has not even taken off in the first place to engage in crime fighting which is technology.

Over in the United States, the courts might have been prevented to rule over the FBI’s plans to get Apple Corp. to develop a special software to unlock an iPhone in respect of the San Bernardino attacks. However, in another case, a court in New York still denied the FBI’s demands for Apple to assist in getting data from the iPhone of a drug baron who had pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against him. However, a higher court on 8 April eventually granted the FBI prayers for Apple to assist in getting data out of the heavily encrypted iPhone of the Mexican drug baron.

The lines between privacy and free speech when it comes to fighting terrorism and criminal elements would remain a slipping slope so long as there are bumps in the way to fight crime.

The courts will have to decide on a case by case basis whether certain privacy of suspects should be allowed to remain absolute, because when it comes to resolving mysteries regarding crimes, any possible information that could aid in solving it could just be lodged in a mobile device in an encrypted Whatsapp message.

USELU: A SODDEN SUBURB ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE

USELU: A SODDEN SUBURB ON A SLIPPERY SLOPE

by Eromose Ileso

A picture they say speaks more than a thousand words, so does the bare mention of a place evokes a meaning or description of some sort to the subconscious of many. 

For example, the mention of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil sparks an image of the popular Copacabana beach, so does Paris echoes images of the Eiffel Tower, the mention of Cairo elicits legends of the pyramids, while the River Thames and the Big Ben would forever be associated with London. And landmarks of such nature dots cities across the world by which their identity becomes known.

Conversely, when most cities are mentioned, they evoke positive images, even if not all can boast of such good attributes, but there are some areas that have become forever associated with negativity, that the entire social vices one can conjure up in the books of dark arts are linked with such places. And such is the state of a suburb in the city of Benin City called Uselu.

The mention of Uselu evokes an immediate fright in the minds of those that have had unsavoury experiences there. It used to be a suburb associated with persons who were embolden by the nature of the environment by the way they channeled difficult experiences to positive use to better their lives. 

But those good mannered traits of channeling difficult experience to mold lives are well and truly gone, with the recent trend now a case of teenagers and youths becoming kingpins of cult groups, while firearms is to them, what gloves are to a goalkeeper in a football team.

While Uselu has always been associated with unsavoury things, it has assumed a different dimension in recent years especially with the proliferation of street cult groups over the years.

For a start, Uselu is not just a suburb in the ancient city of Benin; it is one that has a strong historical significance in the annals of the Benin Kingdom. The heir to the throne of Oba of Benin traditionally lives there, and assumes the title of Ediaken of Uselu. Traditionally, there is a rite of passage that is done by the would be Oba in Uselu on a span of land called the Traditional Ground before the Oba assumes the throne, he has to walk through that place to the palace.

With such significance, you would think such a place would be a scenery to behold to anybody, but what is on ground is a place that has itself been forsaken by nature. It is a suburb that is on a slope, but it is not noticeable until it rains.

When the heavens opens, the place becomes a deluge which could easily be described as River Uselu. From the spans through the Benin-Lagos Expressway, through the interior of Anigboro street, Ebo street, Ediaken Primary School road, Second Federal Road (a road that is not passable whether in rainy or dry season, during the rains, it could best be described as a mangrove forest), down to the back of Oluwa Primary School, it is a tale of woes whenever it rains. 

To highlight how bad the situation is, ninety percent of Uselu is always under water when there is heavy downpour.

Yet this is just nature's disservice to that part of the city because of it topography, as well as government insensitivity.

However, that is nature, yet the other part has little to do with nature's script. The street cults, the avalanche of cult related killings, the arm robberies, the burglaries, and all the social vices you can think of are like water you drink in Uselu. To better understand the free reign of the dark acts there, a description of what regularly happens is necessary.

A bus coming from Lagos stopped over at a filling Station in Uselu just a few yards from the popular Uselu Shell, a passenger was to alight there, but before he could get down, the driver went into a rage, "Uselu is a bad and useless place" he said, "my friend was robbed here, and his relative killed." "Why would people stay here" he queried, the person alighting from the bus had to pretend that he does not live in that area. The driver's account is what Uselu is and has become.

For instance, a man was recently shot in front of his house early this month, in trying to prevent being shot in his head he used his right hand as a shield to protect it, as at today he has lost that hand to amputation after the bullets damaged several tissues.

Then there is the robbery incident where everybody was robbed in a house whether phones, money, and all, nothing was spared at 5am, with the robbers all masked, which draw strong lines that they are boys from within the community.

On the other hand, robberies between 7-9pm are regular recurrences. While some are lucky to escape with just being robbed, other robbery incidents have been followed by fatalities.

The number of teenagers and youths who are cultist there are on the increase, flexing of muscles are regular occurrences when there are tensions brewing between cult groups, but you will not see muscles being flexed in a manner befitting a wrestling bout, rather its a case of the person that can fire the first shot from whatever firearm to send their victim to the state of thy Kingdom come. Baby faced teenagers could be mistaken with an air of innocence that paints a picture that they cannot hurt a fly, but in the dark acts, they could be seen turning a male-man into an object of ridicule if care is not taken. 

Whatever the picture paints of the suburb of Uselu, it is one frost with a web of negativity, even the hand of nature has not been kind to that part of the city, neither has the environment being kind to persons that grew up there, this is not to say there are no good mannered people with strong morals there, so also it can be said that good things and good persons have come out of the place, but they are diminishing by the day.

To complicate the state of Uselu, it is a place lacking in government presence despite it being a Local government headquarters. It is a place crying out for a police station to be sited there because of the high crime rate, although there are at least three police stations (Textile Mill Road, Okhoro and New Benin Police stations) that could easily be called upon when there is trouble, due to distance, the deed of the deviants would have been done before they arrive.

The question now is who and what can salvage Uselu from the hands of the deranged and deviants? And can it ever assume a different description to what it is today? As Bob Dylan puts it, the answer my friend is blowing in the winds. 

Who is a neighbour in the present Nigerian Context?

    

Who is a neighbour in the present Nigerian Context? by Eromose Ileso 

The present maze of security challenges that is bedeviling the country has brought to the fore a re-assessment of some tenets and chequered value system that were the hallmark of the society in the years past.

Although, there were and still are several moral tenets and norms in the society where a neighbour could easily ask a stranger or any body for that matter mostly in local parlance by saying:

‘Where you dey go’‘Wetin una dey look for’‘where una come from’‘Wetin you dey do for here’ and the list is endless.   

These were questions that were common place on the lips of neighbours in the days where you could sleep in the veranda of your house during a heat wave without fear of anything or even raise the curtains and open the windows of your room. And it was also the days were hedges of flowers were the fences you find in the front of different houses. But unfortunately, those days have long gone.

The present state of things has made many to go inside their shells because of fear of the unknown.

The question then is, in the present day Nigeria, who then is a neighbour?

From a biblical perspective, in the book of Luke 10:29-37

A lawyer asked Jesus Christ the same question. Speaking through a story Jesus answered thus:

  But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.

 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

 And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

This bible scenario as depicted by Jesus’ encounter with the said lawyer plays out on a daily basis in every nook and corner of the Nigerian society in different situations. It was easy to identify who the true neighbour was in that bible story.

However, in the Nigerian context today, the very fact that the fabric of the society has changed, the concept of what constitute a neighbour has completely been redefined. Many see things through their own eyes and not through the eye of others. And, as a result as humans we see things as we are from where we are. As such, to many, a neighbour is one who minds is own business and will not mingle in the affairs of others be it good or bad.

The reason for this kind of disposition is not far fetched. How do you reconcile these scenarios with the issue of who truly is a neighbour.

Firstly, a motorist who aids a gun shot victim involved in a robbery incident ends up being arrested by the police as a suspect in the robbery incident. Such a person ends up posting bail with a huge amount of money on the ground of trying to be a good and moral person.

A person who gives information and intelligence report to security agents ends up being revealed as the source of such information through the connivance of the same security agents, and the person ends up being made a scapegoat by men of the underworld.

A man traveling on the highway noticed a supposed pregnant woman on the side of the road who pretends to be in labour pains, but as it turns out, she was a part of a robbery gang plotting for a victim that would fall into their trap.

A whistle blower who reveals the menace of under hand dealings in an office ends up being relieved of is appointment.

A mechanic who tried to mediate and separate two warring parties on the grounds that one of them is his house mate eventually ends up being arrested by the police at the scene of the fighting after others had fled the place and left behind a bag that contained fire arms. He is still languishing in prison.

A prominent person who is a philanthropist ends up being kidnapped without recourse to is acts of kindness.

And to a person who gives a lift to others and ends up falling victim of arm robbery attack through the antics of those being helped.

The list of scenarios is endless.

To those who have been victims of such real life scenarios, in the long run being a neighbour means staying on your own and not getting involved in the affairs or activities of others. To them, it is a case of once beaten, twice shy.

It is often common place to hear third parties say in local parlance especially when a person who tried to lend a helping hand ends up being a victim to those being helped.

You often hear words like: ‘ na over sabi dey worry am, wetin make am no mind in own business’ another could be ‘others no pass the same road, why ebi say na only he wan come stop. Too know na worry am’ the bashing usually goes on for a while as most would refuse to see reason with the person who tried to be of help to a fallen comrade.

The situation is made worse with the present state of security challenges facing the country. This has caused many to completely re define who a neighbour is not minding what the Holy book says.

These are antitheses of what Nigeria has turned into. And who would blame those who have stayed away from being of help to others because of what they have experienced in the past. 

Despite this, many have defiled the odds to continue to be agents of change in a challenging society as ours. Many Nigerians still go to appreciable length to give a befitting meaning to the word neighbour.