NNL

Vandrezzer FC confirms attack on Facebook page, sets for showdown meeting with Meta

By Nsidibe Akpan

Posted on October 5, 2022

Vandrezzer FC confirms attack on Facebook page, sets for showdown meeting with Meta

Vandrezzer FC has confirmed an attack on their verified Facebook page.

The Athletic NG broke the news of the attack earlier today, which has restricted the Club from posting content on the Facebook page.

In a press statement released by the Club on Wednesday afternoon, the club confirms they have been in contact with Meta Technology, who are the owners of Facebook.

The club further stated that the attack was deliberately targeted at the Nigeria National League side to derail their efforts of repositioning football in Nigeria, while urging supporters to remain calm in the face of this recent attack.

The press statement reads: “Vandrezzer Football Club regrets to confirm that one of our social media platforms (Facebook) is under threat from unknown cyber attack.

“The account has experienced recent cyber attacks which our internet security team was able to fend off and reported same to Meta Technology. But, on Monday, October 3, 2022, the attackers successfully gained partial access to the account which has halted our activities on the platform.

“Already, our team is in contact with Meta Technology to resolve the issue.

“While this is a temporary setback on our part, we call for calm and understanding from our supporters, and also urge Meta to work decisively and swiftly to protect the integrity and trust of their brand.

“We want to assure our supporters that YOUR CLUB will conquer this threat which is a deliberate target at Vandrezzer FC to derail us from the path of setting the pace and leading the transformation of football development in Nigeria.

“For now, we will continue communication via our other social media handles including Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Website, which are all safe,” the statement reads.

CLUB STATEMENT – FACEBOOK

Vandrezzer Football Club regrets to confirm that one of our social media platforms (Facebook) is under threat from unknown cyber attack.https://t.co/xUoTkp6lz7 pic.twitter.com/N6e4h0B2B3
— Vandrezzer Football Club (@vandrezzerfc_) October 5, 2022

The account was unable to be found on Facebook between Monday evening and majority of Tuesday before suddenly resurfacing on Tuesday evening.

The Facebook account appears to be controlled by a newly created page known as “Straight to the Goal“, which has shared contents from the unknown page using the official handle of the club.

None of the page’s content has been changed or deleted, meaning, the club may still be able to wrestle control from the unknown hacker.

Vandrezzer FC announced the verification of the Facebook account in May 2021 and remains the only club side in Nigeria with verification in their major social media handles (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

The club’s social media followership including YouTube and Tiktok currently stands at 1.4million followers, with Facebook having more than one million of the followership.

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