Suspected Russian hackers have begun to target Nigerian websites, with Bet9ja falling as their first victim.

This is coming after the United States said it  secretly removed malware from computer networks around the world in recent weeks, in its bid to pre-empt Russian cyber attacks.

US said the move was necessary because of Russia’s plan to attack American critical infrastructure, It said the malware it removed enabled Russians to create ‘botnets’- networks of private computers that are infected with malicious software and controlled by the G.R.U, the intelligence arm of the Russian military.

Bet9ja first announced that it was having issues with its website on Wednesday on  its verified Twitter handle. According to the company, its customers were not able to log in to their accounts .

It said, “We are currently experiencing an issue with our website . This means you may not be able to log in. We take this matter very seriously and our IT team is working on it as their number one priority right now”.

However, on Thursday, the firm announced that it had become a victim of cyber attack. Bet9ja said, “The Bet9ja betting platform, just like so many market leading global organizations, has recently become a victim of a sophisticated criminal cyber attack, which is restricting our customers from having access to the platform.

“We are working tirelessly with our IT team, independent forensics and cyber crime experts to resolve this. We take this matter extremely seriously. Our priority is protecting our customers and you have our assurances that your accounts will not be compromised  and all your funds are safe.

In a previous post, the firm added that its customers’ funds are secured.

According to the Founder, e86 Limited , Olugbenga Odeyemi, Bet9ja’s attack is likely to become common place with other companies if proactive steps are not taken.

“My hope is that organizations won’t find out about attacks on their infrastructure when its too late to salvage anything”.

Odeyemi said that Nigerians should be worried about a likely increase in cyber attacks as it is likely to cripple the productivitiy of organizations.