Nigeria's NITDA alerts to AI-driven 'DeepLoad' malware targeting banks and government agencies

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has issued a cybersecurity advisory warning that an AI‑powered malware called “DeepLoad” is actively targeting Nigerian government agencies, banks, financial institutions, businesses and individual users. Once executed, DeepLoad silently installs on the victim’s device, harvests stored passwords, banking credentials, personal data and documents from web browsers, and evades antivirus detection by leveraging artificial‑intelligence techniques. The malware also includes a Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) persistence mechanism that can reactivate infections after removal.

NITDA says successful infections could lead to unauthorized access to bank accounts, mobile‑money services and payment cards, as well as identity theft, financial fraud and disruption of business operations. The agency warns that the threat may compromise sensitive government networks, posing a risk to national security. Users are advised never to copy‑paste commands from untrusted websites into their computers, as legitimate software providers do not request such actions.